


Maybe We Are Chimeras

by jessthebrunette



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Good Draco Malfoy, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining Draco Malfoy, Protective Harry Potter, Redeemed Draco Malfoy, Tutoring, soft, wolfstar briefly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:27:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 20,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26205649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jessthebrunette/pseuds/jessthebrunette
Summary: Evangeline Jamie Potter, or just Jamie Potter to those who know her, or just Potter to certain others, twin sister to the Boy Who Lived.She didn’t complain about much, just having to live with the Dursleys for a month and a bit a year, or the casual way her brother had nearly died for the last three years going.They’d survived a possessed Professor, a Basilisk, and a Mass Murderer, although he didn’t really count, he was family now, and innocent.And it was the rat’s fault anyway.However, hoping to ditch the unlucky streak of the last three years of Hogwarts, Jamie starts the year with a fresh mindset, only to be informed that it might be her worst year yet.She has to tutor a student in Transfiguration.And not just any student.Draco Malfoy
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Original Female Character(s), Harry Potter & Original Female Character(s), Hermione Granger & Harry Potter & Ron Weasley, Remus Lupin & Original Female Character(s), Sirius Black & Original Female Character(s), Sirius Black & Remus Lupin & Harry Potter
Comments: 10
Kudos: 63





	1. The Weasleys

“Harry, if you don’t get that trunk down here in the next five minutes, I’ll swear I’ll make that scar burn more than Voldemort ever could.”

“Oh, charming Jamie,” Harry shouted down the stairs, sarcasm dripping in his tone. “Just threaten the only brother you have, very nice of you.”

“I’d be nicer if you could actually do things on time,” Jamie called back, rolling her eyes.

She watched as her Aunt and Uncle murmured to themselves as they sat on their crease-free sofa, glancing out of the window every few seconds with seething looks.

She felt herself twitching nervously on her feet, she hated it when she was in the same room with the Dursleys without Harry, she had more of a loud mouth than he did, and struggled to contain it without Harry sending her warning looks. 

She needed to keep her thoughts to herself today, she didn’t want the Dursleys banning them from going at the last minute, she’d be devastated. 

The Weasleys were hopefully on their way to pick her and Harry up to take them to the Quidditch World Cup, and her dying need to see her second family, as well as a once in a lifetime event, was enough for her to keep her snide side comments quiet.

Harry and Jamie were orphans after their parents had tragically been murdered, and had been living with their Aunt and Uncle for as long as they could remember, and had been hated by them for even longer than that.

They were both going into their fourth year at Hogwarts, a school for magic, and to the Dursleys, this was their greatest shame, to have ‘freaks’ in the family.

It was why Aunt Petunia kept sending Jamie nasty looks over her shoulder, as they weren’t used to having to accommodate people like Jamie and Harry, but the Weasleys were now on their way, and to say they were as non-Muggle-like as you could get was an understatement.

“I’m here,” Harry said, as he dragged his heavy trunk down the stairs, and Hedwig’s empty cage, a grin on his face, which his glasses hung crooked off. “Five minutes before they’re meant to get here.”

“Your glasses are going to break again soon,” Jamie muttered, keeping her voice as low as she could. “I’ll fix them when we get back to school.”

It was one of the things Jamie was blessed with that Harry wasn’t, good eyesight, she hadn’t needed glasses, unlike her twin, but in a way it was something she was envious of, as she knew it was a trait he inherited from their father.

Harry and Jamie looked incredibly similar, the same green eyes, the same dark colour of hair, their small statures, although Jamie was never sure if this was genetic or due to the Dursleys never feeding them enough.

Obviously, they did not share the need for glasses, and Jamie’s hair, while messy like her brother’s, was a lot longer, and came to the middle of her back, leading to her having sleeker, wavier hair than her twin. 

She felt the tension ease slightly in her now Harry was next to her, he would stop her from doing anything rash and getting them barred back into their rooms, the cake incident with Dobby in the house had been more her fault than his two years ago, so now she took his word with a more serious nature.

“Do you think they’ll come in a car?” Harry asked, a slight hint of worry in his features as he turned to her. 

“I mean, they might,” Jamie whispered back, craning her neck to try and look out of the window without her Aunt seeing. “They’ve done it before.”

“Yeah, while flying,” Harry muttered back, seeming more apprehensive. “I hope they are here soon.”

It seemed Uncle Vernon was thinking the same thing, as he turned to the two of them, the vein in his forehead getting more visible by the minute. 

“Evangeline,” he started, and Jamie tried her best to keep the sneer off her face. No one called her Evangeline, she went by Jamie, her middle name, it just suited her better, not that the Dursleys cared. “What time did they say they were arriving again?”

His moustache bristled as he addressed her, looking irritated that he even had to. The Dursleys always did their best to ignore the two of them, not that Harry and Jamie minded, it was better to be ignored than yelled at.

Jamie nudged Harry to answer the question as she kept her eyes on the floor in front of her, keeping her determined silence to avoid any comments escaping her lips, the ‘Evangeline’ had almost made her slip up.

It wasn’t like she hated it, in fact, after hearing about the story behind it from her Godfather last year, she held a fondness for it.

“Evangeline comes from Evans,” Remus had told her, as he was demonstrating the correct way to hold her wand for the Patronus charm. “It was a joke your mother had suggested, but your father stuck with it, don’t even ask me about how your middle name came about.”

“Well,” Jamie said, a toothy grin on her face. “Now I’ve just got to know.”

“Well, your parents had settled on first names, but not middle, and by the time you two were born it was too late,” Remus said, a fond gaze appearing on his face. “So, after giving birth your Mum said anything would do, just as long as it suited you two, so James decided on Harry’s middle name being James, and then, just to make it entertaining, he made yours Jamie.”

He’d laughed, one of the first times Jamie had seen him do so, and he looked up at her with a happy smile. 

“I’d love to see your Mum’s face at knowing you went by it now, it would be a picture,” he said, his expression faraway, as though in a memory. “You’ve always disliked it though, the first time I came to visit you after your parents named me your Godfather, I called your name and you threw a toy cuddly dragon at me.”

Jamie smiled as she remembered the conversation, glancing at Harry out of the corner of her eye. It was another thing they didn’t share, their Godfather’s, but neither of them minded, they knew both Sirius and Remus cared for the two of them an incredible amount, and Jamie felt it made their family much bigger. 

Jamie sat down on her trunk as the time passed, next to her owl’s cage where Artemis was sleeping soundly, the Weasleys went from being five minutes late to over half an hour, Harry was stood beside her, watching their Uncle pace the living room with wary eyes. 

“Well, it’s just rude and inconsiderate,” he was ranting, Jaime was doing her best to block him out but as the time passed, her nerves grew more and more. “Well, what more would you expect from people like them?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jamie asked, her voice strained, Harry looked down at her, and she reminded herself to be on her best behaviour. 

“Just that, people like you are more likely to be less mannered, less educated,” he sneered down at them. “Less caring about social etiquette like, well, normal people.”

“Funny that, they’ve taken better care of us than you ever have,” Jamie said before she could help herself, she felt Harry still next to her, and glanced up at him to find him watching Uncle Vernon intently, gauging for a reaction. 

But it never came, instead there was just a loud yell, followed by banging and knocking which seemed to be happening from the other side of the Dursleys’ living room. 

Artemis woke up from his cage, and hooted shrilly, obviously alarmed by the sudden noise, Jamie stroked his black feathers softly through the gaps in his cage to calm him down. 

Dudley came flying out of the living room first, past Harry and Jamie, heading in the direction of the kitchen looking terrified.

“What is it?” Harry asked, as Jamie ran to the living room door. “What’s happened?”

The loud banging was coming from behind the Dursleys’ plugged in coal fire, and frantic scraping could be heard. 

Jamie approached the wall with Harry behind her, as she heard the Dursleys discussing what to do.

“Ouch! Fred- no! Go back, there’s been some kind of mistake, tell George not to- ouch!” 

Jamie started to laugh as she figured out what was going on, she kept her laugh quiet so the Dursleys couldn’t hear, but Harry turned to her inquisitively. 

“They’ve tried to floo,” she giggled, Harry suppressed a smile and knocked on the wall loudly. 

“Harry? Jamie? Can you hear us?” Mr Weasley’s voice called out in response. 

The Dursleys rounded on them, looking furious, Harry began to try and calm them down as Jamie tried to help the Weasleys out. 

“Mr Weasley, can you hear me?”

“Jamie, is that you?”

“Yes, Mr Weasley, the Dursleys have an electric fire, so they’ve boarded up the chimney,” she explained, she caught eyes with Harry and saw him put his head down to laugh a little. 

“Eckletic? With a plug?” Mr Weasley said excitedly. “Gracious, I must see tha- ouch! Ron!”

“What are we doing here? Has something gone wrong?”

“Oh no, Ron. No, this is exactly where we want to be.”

“Yeah, we’re having the time of our lives here!”

“Okay, Jamie, Harry, stand back!”

They immediately did as they were told, and after a massive crash, there, in the dust and debris, stood four of the Weasleys. 

Jamie abandoned all her pretences and ran over to give Ron a huge hug, he laughed as he enveloped her, he was now standing a good foot than her. 

“How’s the summer been?” Ron smiled down at her, letting her go.

“Lousy, but hopefully about to get a whole lot better,” she said, cheerfully. She didn’t care anymore, the Dursleys couldn’t do anything now. “It’s great to see you!”

“You too, Jamie,” George grinned, coming over to her. “Is it just me or do you get shorter every time we see you? Even Harry makes you look like a midget.”

“That’s because she is,” Harry said, abandoning Mr Weasley with the Dursleys as he apologised. “One day she’ll get her growth spurt.”

“You are literally only a few inches taller than me,” she said, glancing up at Harry to check. “Anyway, shorter people are feistier, look at Ginny.”

“That’s true,” Fred smiled. “She’s becoming a sly little troublemaker, never gets caught though.”

“I can’t wait to see her,” Jamie grinned, Ginny and her had always been close, she was the only girl out of the Weasley kids, which meant whenever Jamie or Hermione stayed, it was always with Ginny. “It’s been ages.”

“Not long now!” Mr Weasley said, approaching the fire with a bag in his hand. “I know you’ve used floo powder before, Jamie, so if you want to go first, you’re perfectly fine to, George can carry your trunk with him.”

“Thank you, Mr Weasley,” Jamie said, and she ran to pick up Artemis, and approached the fire. She turned back to the Dursleys and waved her hand. “Goodbye!”

She made her way to step into the flames, but Mr Weasley stuck his arm out, stopping her.

“Aren’t you going to say goodbye to her?” Me Weasley questioned, everybody turned to look at the Dursleys. “You won’t see her until next year.”

“Really, it’s all I expe-“ she tried to explain, but Uncle Vernon was turning red at the thought of being made fun of by someone he considered to be lower than him. 

“Bye, Evangeline,” he spluttered out, Jamie turned away, rolling her eyes, hoping Harry had more luck out of them. 

“You know it’s Jamie,” she replied, knowing it was too late for them to ground her as she stepped into the fire slowly, not used to the tickling feeling of the flames. She turned round to the others, taking a small breath and trying to think clearly. “The Burrow!”

She watched the scene in front of her disappear, and felt herself whiz through different fireplaces, keeping her eyes shut to not feel dizzy. 

She stuck one of her hands out as she felt herself slowing down, and managed to catch herself before she face planted, keeping her grip on Artemis’s cage tight. 

Before she could even take in her surroundings, there was a small scream and she was suddenly consumed by red hair squeezing her to death.

“Ginny!” Jamie laughed, hugging her back tightly. “I’ve missed you!”

“Missed you more,” Ginny smiled, releasing her. “Things get so boring without you.”

“She’s right,” said a voice behind her, all Jamie saw was the big bushy hair before she ran over to give Hermione a hug. “It’s been so long.”

“Think at this point I should just pack up and leave the Dursleys,” Jamie joked, rolling her eyes dramatically. “They wouldn’t mind.”

“Come live here!” Ginny said, seriously. “Mum wouldn’t mind at all!”

“She really wouldn’t,” called a voice amusedly from the table, Jamie looked over to see two Weasley boys she’d never met before. “Nice to meet you, I’m Bill.”

“I’m Jamie,” she said, waking over to him to shake his hand, before turning to the other boy. “You must be Charlie, Ron talks about you two all the time.”

“Good to know,” Charlie grinned, he had a stocky build, similar to Fred and George’s. “He talks about you and Harry all the time too, in fact everyone does, it’s difficult for them to not to.”

“Trust me, spend time with them and you’ll figure out why,” Ginny said, taking Artemis from Jamie’s hands. “Things would be so boring around here without the Potters.”

“Oh I don’t know, our time at Hogwarts was pretty interesting,” Bill said, looking over at Charlie. “You guys missed the discovery of all the vaults.”

“Vaults?” Jamie questioned, sitting down at the kitchen table. 

Just as she asked the question, Ron arrived, brushing off his knees before sitting down at the table next to them. 

“You really weren’t kidding about the Dursleys,” he said, shaking his head. “They hate us.”

“Yeah, I think the whole blowing half the living room up really sold it to them,” Jamie joked, everyone turned to Ron looking for an explanation. “But don’t take it personally, they hate me and I’m their niece.” 

“I’m sure they don’t hate you,” tried Bill, looking concerned, but Jamie just laughed, that was when George came through with her trunk.

“Heads up,” he said, a mischievous glint in his eye, as he placed her trunk down next to where Ginny had put Artemis’s cage. Artemis himself now perched on Ginny’s hand as he let her stroke him. “Fred is coming through next, he dropped a Ton-Tongue Toffee on the floor for that cousin of yours to eat, we’re experimenting.”

“Experimenting how?” Bill asked, raising an eyebrow, George just smirked and shrugged, sending a wink Jamie’s way. 

“You’ll see soon,” he smiled, just as Fred landed in the kitchen, an identical smile of his face. 

“It’s dropped, all he’s got to do is eat it and we’ll see,” Fred grinned, heaving Harry’s trunk over to the growing pile in the corner. “Serve your cousin right, and your Aunt and Uncle, they’re awful.”

“Try living with them,” Jamie stated, watching the fireplace for Harry to come through. “Trust me, Christmases at the Dursleys used to be Dudley getting his fifteen thousand presents and Harry and I getting an orange each, needless to say Hogwarts is an improvement.”

“Just a little,” Ginny said, rolling her eyes. All of the Weasleys hated the Dursleys, especially two summers ago when they were the ones to break Harry and Jamie from their barred rooms, after the cake incident. “I’m glad I’ve never had to meet them, I cant believe the way they treat you.”

“Hey, I thought it was normal until I was eleven years old,” Jamie mused, thinking about the day Hagrid came and rescued Jamie and Harry, telling them they were both magic. “Trust me, Hogwarts really was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“And that’s with you and your friend group nearly dying every year,” George joked, Jamie and Hermione looked at each other with matching grins. “See, Bill, without this group around, Hogwarts would have no action.”

“Like I said before, you missed out of the cursed vaults,” Bill smiled, sending a grin to Charlie. “One of our best friends was a lot like that, every year would find a new problem, Fred, George, you might remember them, they were in Charlie’s year.”

“Oh! I do, slightly,” George said, looking fond. “Dumbledore said they were one of the biggest troublemakers the school had ever seen, obviously you four took up that mantle the year after they left school, you should be very proud.” 

“What where the cursed vaults?” Jamie asked, extremely interested, Charlie launched into an explanation of his years at Hogwarts, a fond smile on his face as he talked about his adventures, Jamie glanced at the fireplace again, there was no sign of Harry yet. “It’s taking Harry a while isn’t it?”

“That’s a good sign,” Fred said, watching the fire place too. “That means something is holding him up.”

“Like a six foot long tongue,” George laughed, and all heads turned to his direction. “It’s harmless, it’ll grow back down eventually.”

The kitchen roared with laughter, Hermione was the only one who didn’t, but even she had a smile on her face. 

That was when Harry landed, Fred and George rushed over to help him up.

“Did he eat it?” Fred said, looking keen. 

Harry then explained the entire situation, causing even more laughter to erupt, especially when Harry pulled a broken piece of china out of his head as evidence of Uncle Vernon’s anger. 

It was all fun and games until Mr Weasley turned up, and screamed murder at the twins, both of who looked suddenly less pleased with themselves. 

“Wait until your mother hears about this!”

“Until she hears about what?” Mrs Weasley asked as she entered the room, the twins both automatically paled, and Mr Weasley himself looked panicked. “Oh, hello Harry, dear! Jamie, sweetie, how have you both been? You look hungry, they never feed you two enough, don’t worry, I’ll make extra portions for you tonight.”

She made her way over to them as she said this, giving Harry a light hug, Jamie stood up so she could get the same, Mrs Weasley smiled and hugged her tightly. 

“Now, what do I need to hear about?” Mrs Weasley said, sternly. 

**

The shouting was still going on ten minutes later, as Ron, Hermione, Harry and Jamie all camped out in Ron’s room, waiting for the argument to calm down. 

“So,” Jamie started up, staring around with a smile on her face. “Do we know anyone else going to the World Cup?”

“There’s another family we’re meeting, the Diggorys, you know them, Cedric and that,” he said, an unhappy look on his face, Jamie glanced at Harry, but he seemed to be unbothered. Cedric had been the only Seeker to ever beat Harry to the snitch in a Quidditch match last year, if hadn’t really mattered, Gryffindor still lifted the trophy. “And I don’t know, probably a lot of people from school, I bet the Malfoy’s will be there.”

“Ugh, of course they will,” Jamie moaned, looking over at Hermione with annoyance. Draco Malfoy was a Slytherin at Hogwarts, same year, and completely hated all their guts, the feeling was mutual of course. “I could go the rest of my life without seeing Draco Malfoy, and I would be pleased as punch. Or I’d punch him, and still be as pleased, probably more so.”

“Hermione would know,” Harry teased, and Hermione smiled, looking proud of herself. 

“And we’re all immensely jealous,” sighed Ron, looking like it was his greatest wish to punch Malfoy in the face, to be fair, it probably was. 


	2. Quidditch World Cup

To their greatest disappointment they did see Malfoy at the World Cup, he was sat in the Top Box with them as they watched the game.

Jamie kept feeling the hairs on the back on her neck creep up, and every time she turned around to see what it was, Malfoy would hastily look away from her. 

No matter how much she scowled at him, he still kept doing it, making her focus on the game shift because she was too busy thinking about Malfoy, and why he was looking at her every time she wasn’t looking at him.

She caught his eye once, and she swear she saw him panic and quickly avert his eyes back to the match, but if he didn’t want her to catch him, why was he doing it in the first place?

She groaned as she turned back to the match, deciding to ignore him for the rest of it, she didn’t really care if he was staring at her. 

“You okay?” Ginny whispered, intently watching the game from her seat, but looking at Jamie quickly just to check on her. 

“Yeah, I’m fine, Malfoy is just pissing me off,” she said back, huffing and adjusting in her seat to pay more attention. “Ireland still in the lead?”

“You know it.”

It was clearly obviously an Irish win as they walked back to the campsite they had pitched their tent on, huge smiles on all their faces, Jamie had never had a night like it. 

The Irish were so happy that their celebrations continued way into the night, so when Mr Weasley woke her and the other girls up, and she could hear the screaming, that’s automatically what she thought it had to be. 

“You need to go, now,” he was calling, shaking them all from their sleep. “Get dressed, meet the boys, get into the forest for safety, okay? Go!”

They did what he said, as quickly as they possibly could, Jamie’s heart was pounding, and she ran out of the tent as fast as her feet would take her, until she found Harry. 

These things, attacks or events that just seemed to find them in life, always affected Harry somehow, so her need to find him was deeply ingrained. 

She watched Fred and George take Ginny and run, her, Hermione, Harry and Ron directly behind them, all sprinting as fast as they could into the woods. 

Jamie chanced a glance behind her, to see many masked figures levitating objects in the air, and with a sick twist of the stomach, she realised it was the muggles they had met at the gate that morning. 

She watched as many people raised their wands in defence of the masked men, as Hermione grabbed her arm and forced her to turn round and keep running. 

They’d made it into deeper woods when Ron has fallen over a tree stump, letting out an ‘Ouch!’. 

“This is ridiculous, they can’t blame us for using magic here,” Jamie said, taking her wand out of her boot. “Lumos!”

Ron and Hermione did the same thing, and they all turned expectantly at Harry, who was frantically searching his pockets. 

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Jamie said, as she realised what was going on. “You haven’t got your wand?”

“It’s gone!” Harry called, looking panicked. 

“It’s okay, you must have left it in the tent,” Jamie said, casting a look behind them, as the screaming got louder. “Let’s just keep going for now, we can find your wand later.”

Her breathing was getting erratic as they carried on, they were all getting tired, so when they got to a clearing further in, Ron stopped for a second, but only to be met by Draco Malfoy for the second time that night. 

“What do you want, Malfoy?” Jamie said quickly, not trusting why he was by himself for a second. 

“Oh nothing,” he smiled, and then he nodded at Hermione. “I wouldn’t stop if I was you, not until the Mudblood is safe, it’s her they’re after, or well and you blood traitors.”

“Watch your mouth,” Ron said quickly, his ears turning red. 

“All I meant is that’s what they’re doing out there, you do realise that,” he said, a superior look on his face. “They’re muggle hunting, it’s sport to them.”

“Well, I’d suppose you’d know,” Jamie spat back, Malfoy looked surprisingly offended. 

“You don’t know anything about me, Potter,” Malfoy scowled at her, glancing over his shoulder at the screams.

“Whatever, we got to keep moving,” Jamie said, realising what Malfoy had, the screams were getting louder again. She nudged Hermione, and Harry and Ron pulled her forward with them, it seemed to be a case of keeping Hermione safe according to Malfoy. “Oi, Malfoy.”

“What?” He asked, looking annoyed. 

Jamie checked behind her, making sure her friends and brother were out of hearing range; she didn’t want them to know Malfoy of all people, had gotten under her skin, just by looking at her. 

“Why’d you keep staring at me in the box for?”

“I don’t know, Potter” he said, a smug smile on his face. “Maybe you’ve gotten fitter over the summer, just couldn’t keep my eyes off you.”

With that, he turned and left the clearing, an amused smirk on his face as he did so, Jamie stood there in shock, not believing what had just happened. 

“No, you’ve got to be kidding me,” Jamie muttered, feeling frozen to her place, taken back by his words. 

“Jamie, where are you?” Hermione called from the trees, she turned and ran to catch up with them, knowing her cheeks were flaming in embarrassment, feeling especially glad they wouldn’t have heard the little interaction her and Malfoy just had. 

Malfoy who had never ever given her a compliment in her life, who, not even four months ago, said to her face that he could see the spot on her nose from the other side of the Great Hall, that Malfoy, had just called her fit. 

If she saw him on the Hogwarts Express, she was taking a page out of Hermione’s book and punching him square in the nose, the slimy git. 

She knew her face was still completely flustered red as she reached the others, but she blamed it on the hike into the woods, instead of Malfoy. 

The latter would just be too mortifying to entertain the thought of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys really enjoy this chapter, and I hope you like the Draco I write, he will be slightly different from the books but not a lot
> 
> please leave a comment if you feel like it!


	3. Hogwarts Express

Unfortunately for Jamie, Draco Malfoy was seemingly a shadow to her everywhere she went.

She had literally been on the Hogwarts Express for half an hour when she ran into him in the aisle, after saying a quick hello to Angelina and Katie.

They were the two other chasers on the Gryffindor team, with Jamie herself completing the set, Harry and Jamie had managed to both get into the Quidditch team, Harry in his first year, and Jamie in her second through tryouts. 

Angelina and Katie had both been immensely jealous that Jamie had managed to get a ticket to the World Cup, and had fully overlooked the fact that it had been ruined by Death Eaters, only asking her for a play by play as she was leaving. 

“Maybe later, promise next Quidditch practice, I’ll let you know everything, I better get back to the others,” Jamie laughed, moving out of the compartment door and into the aisle, bumping straight into someone. “Oh I’m so sorr- oh, it’s you.”

“Watch where you’re going, Potter,” Malfoy sneered, she glanced behind him to find he was alone, instead of being flanked by his usual goonies. She turned back to Malfoy, realising he was standing in her way and she couldn’t get passed him without pushing. “What are you staring at? My charmingly good looks?”

“You wish, Malfoy,” Jamie snorted, trying to edge around him to get back to the others, put he put his arm on the wall behind her so she was trapped. “What do you want?”

“Nothing, just admiring the view,” he smirked, she rolled her eyes, feeling unbelievably uncomfortable being this close to him. “Why? Trying to run away from me?”

“No, just desperate to get anywhere that’s not 100 metres near you,” she sneered, pushing his arm away from her, and shoving passed him. “I’d never run away, I’m not as cowardly as your family.”

His demeanour changed automatically, the smug smirk from his face vanished, and his eyes turned cold, he straightened up, leaning away from her and leaving her pathway clear.

“You should watch your mouth,” Malfoy warned, his hand hovering near his pocket. “I don’t want to be forced to shut it for you.”

“I’d like to see you try,” Jamie said, licking her lips and looking at him, he stared at the motion strangely, and turned his head away from her. “Everybody knows I’m one of the fastest duellers in the year, I don’t want to have to prove myself to you again.” 

With that she left, casting a look behind her to see him watching her as she left, and she felt her cheeks flush again, to her annoyance. 

She made her way back to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, still seething with annoyance as she reached their compartment door, they looked up as she walked inside, immediately aware of her mood.

“What’s wrong?” Hermione said, taking in her flustered appearance.

“Malfoy,” Jamie replied through gritted teeth, taking the seat opposite her. “Just being his usual irritating self.”

“What else is new?” Harry questioned, in the middle of a game of Exploding Snap with Ron. “What did he say that’s annoyed you so much?”

“He wouldn’t let me get passed him in the corridor, kept me trapped with his arms, and just being annoying as usual,” she said, rolling her arms. “Threatened to shut my mouth, you know, the usual.”

“If I didn’t know any better I’d say he was flirting,” Hermione said, an eyebrow raised, Harry and Ron looked immediately alarmed, while Jamie just laughed.

“Malfoy? Flirting? With me?” Jamie snorted, Harry and Ron relaxed and turned back to their game. “That’s impossible, he hates us.”

“Just seems weird to me,” she shrugged, but returned to her newspaper all the same. 

The rest of the journey went reasonably uneventful, Seamus and Dean swanned in to talk about the game again, and they and Ron and Harry entered into another discussion, one which Jamie had heard a countless amount of times over the past week.

She tuned out and read the passer Hermione had just finished when in walked Malfoy, flunked by Crabbe and Goyle. Jamie caught his eye as he walked in, his smug demeanour back in its usual place, she quickly looked away and turned to Harry.

She did her best to ignore the conversation, trying to seem too interested in the paper to care, it wasn’t until Malfoy started to taunt Ron about Mr Weasley, that she started to pay full attention. 

The back of Ron’s ears were turning red, which was her usual sign to intervene, Harry had grabbed the back of Ron’s robes, and Jamie stood up, wand out and pointing at Malfoy’s neck.

“Don’t try it,” she warned, getting closer and looking up at him, he looked down at her, his eyes flickering with worry. “We both know I can hex you into next week.”

He let out an amused smirk and leant forward into her face, making her back down to get away from him, he leant as close to her ear as he could, she felt the hand holding her wand tremble. 

“I look forward to it, Potter,” he whispered, before turning around and leaving the compartment, she saw Crabbe and Goyle send confused looks to each other before following. 

A silence set in as the group took in what had just happened, Jamie stood still at the entrance to the compartment, before moving to shut the door and sit back down. 

“What the hell just happened?” Ron asked, looking furiously between Jamie and the door. 

“I don’t know,” she muttered, doing her best to ignore the tingling feeling in her ear. “That’s what he’s been like.”

“Do you- do you think he likes you?” Hermione asked, looking shocked, both Ron and Harry stammered, looking at her in bewilderment.

“No! No way! He hates me, always has!” Jamie cried, shaking her head. “He’ll just be doing it to get under my skin, find another way, besides what would have changed between the end of last year and now?”

“Well, Jamie, it’s- you’ve had a bit of a, uh, growth spurt,” Ron muttered, his face flushing. “It’s kind of obvious.”

“Are you kidding me?” Harry rounded on Ron, who shrugged defensively. “No, you’ll be right, he’ll just be doing it to find another way to get to you, he can tell it bothers you.”

“Yeah, that’s right, it has to be,” Jamie reasoned, nodding her head in agreement. “Whatever, I’ll just make sure I stay out of his way as much as I possibly can.”

She turned back to finish her paper, ignoring the way Harry and Ron were looking at each other, and how Hermione’s eyes were scanning her face rapidly. 

Draco Malfoy was not going to get under her skin, especially not by flirting with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you’re all enjoying this!
> 
> Draco is actually such a difficult character to write, because he’s a prat at first 
> 
> Thank you for reading, leave a comment if you feel like it!


	4. Twiwizard Tournament

Malfoy finally seemed to have given up on his new method of torment, by the time they were sat in the Great Hall Jamie was barely sparing him a thought. 

She had a perfect view of him in between Harry and Ron’s shoulders, but he seemed unaware of it, so instead she turned her attention to the front of the Hall and waited for the First Years to be sorted and for her food to appear. 

“I wish they would hurry up,” Jamie whispered, casting a glance up and down the table. “All I can think about is sinking my teeth into a slice of treacle tart.”

“Don’t,” Ron replied, dramatically clutching his stomach. “It can hear you talking, it’s already rumbling.”

“The Sorting is much more important than the feast, you two,” said Nearly Headless Nick, floating by and staring at them disapprovingly.

“Course it is, if you’re dead,” Ron snapped, Jamie swung her leg under the table and gave Ron a good kick. “Ow, Jamie!”

“Don’t be rude, then,” she hissed through her teeth, as ‘Quirke, Orla’ became a Ravenclaw.

Although, Jamie couldn’t help but agree with him as her stomach have a feeble gurgle as the Sorting finally finished, and Dumbledore stood up.

“I have only two words for you,” he smiled, looking around at them. “Tuck in.”

“Hear, hear!” Harry and Ron cheered loudly, Jamie rolled her eyes at Ginny who had plastered an amused smile on her face.

“Boys,” she mouthed, as Ginny cackled, turning back to her friends. 

“You’re lucky there’s a feast at all tonight, you know,” Nick said, looking longingly at the food. “There was trouble in the kitchens earlier.”

“Why?” Jamie asked, spooning roast potatoes on her plate. 

“Peeves,” replied Nick, shaking his head carefully. “Usual argument, he wanted to attend the feast- but the Bloody Baron put his foot down, and quite rightly in my opinion. Especially because of the tantrum it caused, wracked havoc and mayhem, pots and pans everywhere. Place was swimming in soup, terrified the house-elves our of their wits.”

Hermione had swung her neck round so fast that Jamie became concerned she had whiplash, she’d also sent her goblet flying over, drawing the attention of some other students along the table.

“There are house-elves here at Hogwarts?”

“Certainly, largest number in any dwelling in Britain, I believe, over a hundred!”

Ron and Jamie looked up at each other as Hermione and Nearly Headless Nick continued to talk, Ron rolled his eyes and Jamie scowled at him, that was until she saw out of the corner of her eye Hermione push her plate away.

“Slave labour, that’s what made this dinner,” Hermione growled, glaring at all the food. “Slave labour.”

“Hermione, I agree completely with the fact house elves need more rights and more freedom,” Jamie said, smiling gently at her. “But Hogwarts isn’t going to be a bad place for them, Dumbledore is too nice for that. Besides, we can’t start on a rights campaign if it’s leader is starving.”

Hermione let out a small smile, but when the deserts had been finished, and Dumbledore began his speech, she caught Hermione giving her uneaten plate a disapproving look. Jamie sighed, knowing Hermione wasn’t going to eat tonight, and it wasn’t that Jamie disagreed with her, it was just the fact that Hermione not eating worried her a little. 

Jamie was too busy thinking about her concern for Hermione that she was only half paying attention to Dumbledore’s speech, it wasn’t until all the devastated groans echoed around the Hall that she zoned back in. 

“Wait, what?” Jamie asked, turning to Hermione. 

“There’s no Quidditch this year,” she said, looking shocked. “It’s been cancelled.”

“That’s gotta be a joke, I’ve been reading all summer trying to learn new tactics,” Jamie whined, looking across to Harry who was looking distraughtly up at Dumbledore. “Angelina will be gutted, I thought she was meant to be Captain this year.” 

“This is due to an event that will be starting in October and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers’ time and energy- I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing-“

There was a large crack of thunder at this exact moment, and the doors to the Great Hall banged open, and standing in the middle of them was the silhouette of a large, disfigured man.

He started to limp towards the front of the Hall, passing the students at their tables, they watched him as he walked, he had a glass eye that was whizzing in all directions as he made his way. 

The stranger made his way to Dumbledore, who held out his hand to shake it, the blue glass eye was whizzing around angrily in its socket, until it was pointing into the back of his head, making Jamie feel a little sick.

“May I introduce our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Moody!”

“Moody? As in Mad-Eye Moody?” Jamie whispered to Ron. 

“The one your Dad helped out this morning?” Harry asked, Ron nodded.

“Must be,” he muttered, looking confused.

“What happened to his face?” Hermione questioned, joining the conversation, Jamie looked around to see similar conversations happening everywhere, huddles of students muttering under their breath. 

Jamie couldn’t help herself and glanced up at Malfoy, he was having a discussion of his own, but to her mortification, looked up and caught her eye. 

She quickly looked away, trying to act like she hadn’t been watching him, she risked a glance back up to see him looking at her with a smirk, before returning to his conversation. 

“Damn it,” she murmured, hating the fact he’d caught her. 

“What?” Harry asked, looking behind him.

“Nothing,” Jamie quickly said, and diverted Harry’s attention back to her. “Do you think Moody will last until the end of the year?”

“I won’t give him until the end of the term while he looks like that,” Dean Thomas, who sat on the other side of Harry, laughed. “He looks worse than Professor Lupin did.”

“As I was saying,” Dumbledore continued, smiling down at them. “It’s is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be hosted at Hogwarts this year.”

The atmosphere changed in the room immediately, tons of witches and wizards turned to each other to gossip, while Jamie sat confused, seeing a matching look on Harry’s face. The disadvantages of growing up in an All-Muggle household, especially one that detests even the mention of magic, was that it was very hard to know more than the general knowledge of most Wizarding trivia.

“You’re joking!” Fred shouted, breaking the small excited whispers and replacing them with large amounts of laughter. 

“I am not joking, Mr Weasley,” Dumbledore smiled softly, peering down at him with amusement twinkling in his eyes. 

Jamie was too busy looking down the table to listen to the rest of the explanation of the tournament, she took in the looks on the twins faces, brimming with excitement, and then she turned to the other houses. 

All were a similar scene, excited whispers, large grins, Jamie saw a group of Ravenclaws already chatting about entering, and frowned a little. 

Jamie had heard enough about the tournament from Dumbledore to know she’d rather watch it than enter it, eternal glory had never really be her dream, considering everywhere she went, she already had enough looks and whispers. 

She could feel eyes on her as she frowned, and she glanced up in the direction she knew it would be coming from, to see Malfoy frantically looking away.

To her delight, his face flushed as he’d been caught, but what she really took in was the crease between his eyebrows, as though he, like herself, didn’t consider the tournament to be worth entering.

It was this thought that accompanied her back to Gryffindor Tower, quiet in all the sea of gossip, following her fellow Fourth Years our of instinct, but not partaking in the chatter of the tournament. 

“What’s wrong?” Harry whispered, picking up on her quietness.

“Nothing, just thinking,” she replied, shaking her head. 

“About the tournament?” Harry grinned, Stella nodded, trying to copy his enthusiasm. 

“Of course, a death defying game that we don’t actually have to partake in for once,” Jamie smiled, a sarcastic tone to her voice. “I’m thrilled.”

No way in hell was Jamie ever admitting that her thoughts were not about the tournament, but actually about the look on Malfoy’s face when he’d look away from her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!
> 
> i really don’t think it would be Draco’s choice to enter the tournament, even if he had been of age
> 
> i just don’t think it would be his thing, tell me if you disagree 
> 
> please enjoy and leave a comment if you feel like it!


	5. The Deal

As usual the school year began to zoom, and although Jamie felt like she had been at Hogwarts for two minutes, it was already her second week, and she, like everyone else, was now warming up to the idea of the tournament. 

She couldn’t help but feel relieved about the age restriction, as for once it wouldn’t be her friends putting their lives in danger- although, Jamie did think Dumbledore was asking for it by agreeing to host it.

She looked around the classroom she was currently sat in gazing at her classmates, smiling to herself when she watched Neville accidentally prick himself with the needle they were meant to be turning into a small snake.

Hermione nudged her, forcing Jamie to turn around to face her, eyebrows raised in a questioning fashion. 

“Professor McGonagall is looking this way,” she whispered, nodding to Jamie’s untouched needle before returning to her own, which was sat still, but with snake like patterns on its surface. 

Jamie sighed, waving her wand confidently and concentrating on the needle in front of her, it’s silver metal turned into a blink of an eye into a dark, scaly mass, which began to wiggle on her desk.

Hermione sent her an impressed look, before returning to her own, Jamie looked to see McGonagall giving her an appraising stare, before raising her thin lips in only a way that McGonagall would consider a smile. 

Transfiguration was Jamie’s best subject, closely followed by Potions, to Snape’s immense hatred, and then Charms. 

Transfiguration, however, was the only subject Jamie ever excelled above Hermione at, she seemed to have a natural talent for it, one that McGonagall had picked up on, and had increasingly challenged her over. 

“Reverse the spell, Potter,” McGonagall called from the front of the room. “Then perform the spell again, so the class can see how it’s done properly.”

All eyes turned to Jamie, she caught Neville looking at her with exasperation on his face, his needle remained unchanged. 

She brandished her wand again, watching the silver needle return to its original state, and then, with a nod of encouragement from McGonagall, turned in back into its animal form. 

The class muttered as this was done, all returning to their desks and trying to copy Jamie’s wand movements. She saw Harry and Ron doing the same, and glanced to their table to see their needles had turned into small scaly coils, to which she was immensely glad of, it meant all of them would be able to get away from this lesson with a lack of homework. 

Jamie played with her snake for the rest of class, before following McGonagall’s instructions and turning it into the box at the front of McGonagall’s desk when class had ended. 

“Miss Potter, if you would wait a moment,” McGonagall called, just as Jamie was turning away, she caught sight of the other three of Jamie’s shoulders and ushered them away. “She won’t be long, hurry along to lunch.”

“What have I done now?” Jamie asked, scanning her brain for she could have gotten in trouble over the past two weeks. “I must be slipping because I honestly can’t think of anything.”

“You’re not in trouble,” she replied, motioning for Jamie to sit at the desk in front of her. “I’m coming to you with a proposition.”

“A proposition?” Jamie questioned, curiosity consuming her. “For what?”

“I know how badly you want to become an Animagus,” McGonagall said, looking down at her. “I will teach you human transfiguration mys-“

“You’re joking!” Jamie cried, unable to resist, McGonagall sent her a sharp look and she shut up. 

“I will teach you human transfiguration myself, if you tutor a student for me.”

“Deal!” Jamie said instantly, holding out her hand for McGonagall to shake. 

“Hold on, I haven’t said who yet,” she said bracingly. “It’s a fourth year like yourself, who has promise but has been slightly struggling. You’re the best in your year, and with the Quidditch tournament cancelled, I thought it would be a good use of your extra time.”

“Sounds good to me,” Jamie beamed. “Who is it?”

“Mr Malfoy.”

“M-Malfoy? As in Draco Malfoy?” Jamie stuttered, her stomach sinking. “You mean Malfoy who hates my absolute guts?”

“Don’t be childish about this, Potter,” McGongall warned. “Tutor Malfoy until the end of this year, and I personally will teach you how to safely, and legally, become an animagus.”

McGonagall wore an amused expression on her face, and Jamie knew why, it was a deal she wouldn’t turn down in a million years. Jamie had wanted to become an Animagus the second she saw McGonagall transform in her first year, it had only been excelled by the knowledge her Dad had been one. 

But Malfoy? Of all people? Stuck in an empty classroom tutoring Malfoy? He never would listen to her, let alone let her teach him, it would be a disaster. 

But, one year of tutoring Malfoy for a lifetime as an Animagus seemed too good a deal to refuse. Jamie sighed, weighing the options in her head, McGonagall was dangling the thing she wanted most as a Witch, with the consequence of spending time with a prick like Malfoy. 

“How many times a week?” Jamie asked, looking down at her thumbs. 

“Three times. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays,” McGonagall replied, Jamie suppressed her groan, but barely. Three times a week was a lot of time with Draco Malfoy she would much rather spend somewhere else. “For an hour and a half each time.”

That meant four and a half hours of Malfoy and her in a classroom, alone, probably trying to kill each other, each week, until the end of the year. 

She looked back up at McGonagall, and knowing she was going to regret it later, nodded her head, signalling her agreement. 

“I’ll do it, I’ll tutor him,” she said, trying not to cringe at her own words. “Does he know yet?”

“Yes, and he knows it is you, funnily enough he didn’t seem to mind half as much as you did,” McGonagall stated. Jamie have her a look of confusion, and started to open her mouth. “Oh, Miss Potter, I know you far too well to know you wouldn’t turn down an opportunity like this, I knew you’d take it. Lessons start next week, this classroom, from half seven in the evenings.”

With that McGonagall left the classroom, leaving Jamie sat in the desk, feeling ridiculously sorry for herself. 

Three evenings with Malfoy a week, trying to tutor him in Transfiguration, when she was sure he would absolutely hate it as much as she would, he was never going to learn anything. 

She groaned and dropped her head into her hands, surely not even becoming an Animagus would be worth it, however, she’d now made a promise to McGonagall.

She stood up and swung her bag on her shoulder, sighing loudly, and she made her to the Great Hall for lunch.

The corridors were basically deserted because she was so late, so when she heard echoing footsteps behind her, she turned around so fast she clicked her neck.

Malfoy stood there, his face strangely impassive as he took her in, she ignored the burning feeling in her neck as she looked up at him, her face turning into a scowl. 

“So, what? You’re stalking me now?” Jamie asked, feeling rather irritated. “Just because I agreed to tutor you doesn’t mean you can just follow me down deserted corridors.”

“Who said I was following you? It’s the way to the Great Hall,” he replied, looking her up and down. She suddenly felt small in his gaze, and let her rolled up sleeves on her robes fall down, trying to cover up. “McGonagall insisted I get a tutor, and with OWLs coming up, I wasn’t going to say no, that was until I realised it was you.”

“Well, I’m not exactly thrilled either, Malfoy,” she replied, marching over to him. “But McGonagall promised me something, and if you mess this up for me, I am going to be so angry. So, for once in your life, do the right thing, and don’t ruin this for me. I’m helping you here.”

“I didn’t ask for it,” he sneered, Jamie glared and closed the gap between them, backing him up into the wall. 

“I don’t care,” she replied, staring him down, her hand closing around her wand handle. “I will see you Monday, Transfiguration classroom, at half seven, don’t you dare be late.”

He seemed to be at a loss for words as he just stared at her, his mouth open, Jamie watched as he licked his lips as he closed it, and quickly looked away, not really knowing the reason why. 

“Be there, Mafloy,” she warned, strutting away, desperate to get to a place with more people. “Or I promise you’ll regret it.”

Once she got out of his eyesight, she practically sprinted the rest of the way to the Great Hall, sliding into her seat on the Gryffindor table, slotting herself between Hermione and Ginny.

“What did McGonagall want?” Hermione asked immediately, sliding Jamie a plateful of food which she took gratefully. “Are you in trouble?”

“Well, no, not exactly,” Jamie began, not knowing where to start. “She wants me to tutor a student for the year.”

“That’s great!” Hermione clapped, as Ron and Harry looked remarkably less enthusiastic. “What an opportunity, that’s amazing experience.”

“Wait, I haven’t finished,” Jamie sighed, biting into a sandwich. “She offered, in return, to teach me human transfiguration, to become an Animagus.”

“What?” Harry shouted, Jamie shushed him, looking up and down the table, Hermione sat with her mouth slightly parted, and Ron was now paying complete attention to the conversation. 

“Well, it’s almost compensation,” Jamie groaned, the others looked confused, thinking she would be thrilled. “The student is Malfoy.”

“Malfoy?” Ron cried, Jamie nodded, taking a large angry bite into her sandwich. “You’ve got to be joking.”

“Nope!” Jamie said, shrugging her shoulders. “That’s the deal.”

“Well, what did you say?” Harry asked, his forehead creased.

“I said yes,” Jamie stated, rubbing her hand over her face, feeling increasingly depressed. “It sucks more than anything, but I’ve wanted to become an Animagus since I was eleven years old, I can’t turn it down.”

“McGonagall is bang out of order,” Ron growled, looking severely pissed off. “She knows you’d do anything, and to make if Malfoy you’ve got to tutor? Harsh is an understatement.”

“She would of done it for a reason,” Hermione reasoned, as always. “Maybe she thinks Malfoy isn’t as bad as we think he is.”

“You know who you’re talking about, right?” Jamie snorted, as Harry and Ron rounded on Hermione. “Malfoy? Comes from a ridiculously purist, cruel family? Literally calls you a slur whenever he can? That Malfoy? If he can redeem himself in my eyes than I’ll snap my Firebolt in half.”

They all laughed, and Jamie felt a bit better knowing they’d be on her side through all of this, and if it got that bad, and Malfoy was too unbearable to teach, she’d simply learn to be an Animagus herself, illegally, like her father did. 

That thought kept her going throughout the rest of the day, and at dinner that night when she caught Malfoy staring at her, the uneasy feeling that had been bubbling in her stomach since she’d agreed to McGonagall’s deal, disappeared a small bit. 

Sure, Malfoy was awful to be around at the best of times, but if he got that bad, she could always give up, and teach herself. 

She’d do it now if she didn’t respect McGonagall so much, and with that thought, she sent Malfoy a sarcastic smile, and turned back to her table of Gryffindors.

Although, she wasn’t too sure her cocky persona would last once Monday came around, and she was going to be spending almost five hours a week holed up in an empty classroom with Draco Malfoy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all!
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter, the idea for this fic came from watching so many of those Yule tiktoks
> 
> I’m a sucker for them, although I thought tutoring would be a bit more fun


	6. First Session

She couldn’t do it, there was no way she could do it, an hour and a half alone with one of the people she hated most in the world?

Jamie cursed, checking her watch for the time, it was five minutes until Malfoy was suppose to meet her, and she was sitting alone in the Transfiguration classroom feeling like a moron. 

She twiddled her wand in her hands, hoping to pass the time until he arrived, if he arrived at all. 

She’d already lit the lanterns ready, and had prepared an open space in the middle of the classroom, with a rat in a small cage propped in the middle. 

She sighed, and leant against the desk behind her, getting ready to give up and run back to the common room, when she heard footsteps in the corridor. 

She felt a wave of anxiety pass over her, her stomach sinking as the door opened and Malfoy stuttered in, looking as irritated as she felt. 

They didn’t say anything to each other, only staring at the other in hatred, both at opposite ends of the classroom, until Jamie sighed, and stood up straight, wand in her hand. 

“I thought we’d start with the basics,” she said, moving to the rat in the cage, without lifting her head to look at Malfoy. “Turning a rat into a goblet, and then back again. McGonagall taught it already, like two years ago.”

“Why are you teaching me stuff I’ve already learnt?” Malfoy snapped, Jamie pursed her lips, holding in an argument. 

“It’s a good starting point, a revision and a way of seeing where you’re up to,” she spoke carefully, minding her tone. “I’m going to put the rat on the desk, and as soon as I do, I want you to transfigure it, okay?”

“Whatever,” he replied, getting his wand out ready, and pointing it at the desk, as soon as Jamie had let go of the rat, he waved it, and the rat gave a feeble squeak. 

Jamie went to examine his work, he’d done okay, it was a goblet shape, and it was brass, but it still had a rat’s tail, and squirmed when Jamie picked it up.

“Okay, not bad, but not great,” she said, keeping the snark out of her tone. “It’s the way you’re brandishing your wand, your circles are too wide, let me show you.”

She demonstrated for him, and he copied her movements, reluctantly, and with a roll of his eyes, but he did so. 

“Okay, next problem, your fingers, they’re misplaced for the spell,” Jamie instructed, and walked over to him, reaching her hands out to readjust his hand. “Uh- is it okay if I-“

“Whatever, Potter,” he muttered, looking uncomfortable. 

Jamie bet he wasn’t as half as uncomfortable as her, as she took Malfoy’s hand in her own, and lightly placed his fingers in the right positions on his wand, feeling her face heat up when she realised if she looked up, her and Malfoy would be less than an inch away from each other’s faces.

She cleared her throat, stepping away from him as soon as she had finished, and taking a deep breath.

“Okay, try again.”

He did as he was told, brandishing his wand over the rat again, Jamie watched as the rat squirmed, before turning itself into a perfectly shiny, brass goblet. 

She reached over to touch it, it squeaked as she picked it up, but other than that was a nicely done transfiguration.

She made him repeat the action at least ten times, until she had a perfect goblet in her hand, she placed it down on the desk in front of her, and nodded. 

“Okay, that’s a lot better,” she said, rapping her wand over the top of the goblet, and watching it turn safely back into a rat, which she put back into its cage. “How did you cope with the needle lesson last week?”

“Why are you being so nice?” Malfoy asked, glaring at Jamie in suspicion, she automatically returned the glare. 

“I’m not, I’m doing this because McGonagall asked me to,” she snapped, moving the rat’s box to the corner. “I’m not going to be a massive bitch the entire time, I just want to get this over with, like you. The better you get this, the quicker this ends.”

“Can’t believe I got stuck with you,” Malfoy sneered, looking at her in distaste. “Wait until my father realises you’re having to teach me.”

“Well, I bet Daddy can’t wait to hear that little Draco is failing his classes and is having to be tutored by dirt like a Potter,” Jamie quipped, her temper flaring. “How ashamed he’ll be of his precious son.”

“You keep your mouth shut, Potter.”

“Why? What are you going to do? Hex me? We both know you’d never manage against me, is that another thing you’ve had to run home to tell Daddy?”

“I said shut your mouth!” Malfoy shouted, pointing his wand at her. “Flipen-“

“Colloshoo!”

A burst of white light set out from Jamie’s wand, hitting Malfoy in the chest, he groaned and glared at her harder, raising his wand again.

“Expelliarmus!”

His wand shot out of his hand, flying into Jamie’s, he made to start towards her, but found he couldn’t move, he stared at the floor, seeing his shoes were stuck to it. 

“Harry and Hermione are the only people who ever beat me to a spell in a duel, I’m one of the quickest in the year,” Jamie smirked, throwing Malfoy’s wand up and down in her hand. “Which you already know, as I showed you last year, you never beat me in a duel, Malfoy, and, you know, I don’t actually feel like hurting you.”

“Unstick me, Potter,” he growled, straining to get his shoes off the floor.

“Now, see I would, but you’re a prick,” Jamie smiled at him, somewhat enjoying seeing him struggle. “What would Daddy say to see you now?”

“At least I’ve got one,” Draco snarled, Jamie couldn’t help the step back she took, he grinned at her reaction. “What? Does poor orphan Potter miss her parents? Does it still hurt that they’re dead?”

Jamie turned her back on him, not wanting him to see her face, it still hurt, it hurt a lot. That she’d never get to speak with her Mother, that she wasn’t around to teach her how to apply makeup, or braid her hair, or to be her shoulder to cry on. It hurt that her Mum never got to train her in magic, to bring her to get her wand. 

It hurt that she learnt Quidditch through practice, not through her Father, who was a Chaser like her. That the only time she ever got to hear his voice was when the Dementors grew close to her. 

“Oh no, have I upset you?” Malfoy taunted, the smirk back on his face. “It must suck to be so unloved that even Muggles hate you, that’s why you’re at Hogwarts every Christmas right? They can’t stand to have you back.”

She made towards her bag, slinging it over her shoulder, ignoring the tears that were starting to burn her eyes. Malfoy was not going to make her cry, especially in front of him. 

“The fact that the only family you really have is your brother,” he sneered, her wand burned angrily in her hand. “He won’t be around much longer, everyone wants him dead. Bet that hurts doesn’t it? The fact that you’ll be all alone in the world.”

“I can’t wait for you to realise how awful you truly are,” Jamie stated, a shake to her voice. “That one day you’ll look into the mirror, and truly hate who looks back. You are cruel, and awful, and the fact I thought I could help someone like you?”

She flicked her wand at him, he became unstuck and stumbled forwards, looking up at her with a scowl on his face, she tossed his wand on the floor by his feet, where it shot out red sparks in protest. 

“You truly disgust me, Malfoy.”

With that she stormed out of the room, the lights extinguishing as she slammed the door, leaving Malfoy in the dark, only about twenty minutes into their session. 

She could feel her hands shaking as she made her way back to Gryffindor Tower, her breath becoming rushed as she fought the tears that threatened to fall. 

Because Malfoy had figured it out, her biggest insecurity, she wasn’t surprised, it was what she saw when a Boggart appeared. He had been there after all, been there to see her worst fear in front of the whole class.

Her brother dead on the floor, and her, left alone in the world. 

She didn’t even register coming to the Fat Lady, or entering the common room, or the fact that Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat in front of the fire waiting for her. 

She flew up to her dormitory, tears flowing freely as she collapsed on her bed, she was the only one in the room, and she realised with a kick that it was barely eight in the evening. 

Jamie heard the door open, and knew who it was without even turning round, a hand ran through her dark, messy hair, soothing her gently. 

“What happened?” Hermione asked gently, her voice quiet. 

“I can’t do it, I can’t teach him,” she cried, sitting herself up. “He’s just awful, I can’t do it.”

“What did he do?”

“He was saying that his Dad would be disgusted by the fact he was being tutored by me, so I said his Dad would be ashamed by him. Well, you can imagine how that went down,” Jamie snorted through her tears. “He went on to say at least he had a Dad, and that soon Harry would be dead, and I’d be all alone.”

“Oh, I hate him!” Hermione said, shrilly, her fist clenched. “He’s just wicked!”

Jamie wiped her tears away, trying to steady her breathing, she looked up at her bedside table, where a picture of her parents sat, both of them smiling widely and waving up to her. 

“He’s only saying it to get a rise out of you,” Hermione stated, following her eye-line and looking at the picture fondly. “Harry isn’t going anywhere, you know that!”

“I know, it’s just, with his dreams recently, and the Quidditch World Cup, it just feels like something is brewing,” she replied, looking at Hermione. “Malfoy knows exactly how to get under my skin, and he knows he got to me tonight.”

“Don’t give up, please Jamie,” Hermione said, taking her hand. “As soon as McGonagall is happy with his improvement, you get to be an Animagus. Don’t let him take that from you.”

Jamie sighed, knowing she was right, she nodded her head in agreement, and stood up for her bed, looking in the mirror to fix her tear stained face. 

“You better come down, Harry and Ron were going ballistic, let’s get them before they go and find Malfoy for answers themselves,” Hermione joked, Jamie laughed, following her to the door. “And, you should write to Remus, he’d want to know how you were feeling, he’ll help you feel better.”

“You’re right,” Jamie said, starting to walk down the staircase. “First thing in the morning, I’ll send him a letter, and then I’ll go find Malfoy, and tell him that I’ll see him Wednesday night.”

“Good, I’m proud of you,” Hermione grinned, coming to the bottom of the stairs. 

“What the hell did he do?” Harry immediately yelled, his face angry as he walked up to Jamie and examined her. “Did he hit you? Or curse you or something?”

“No, Harry,” Jamie laughed, batting him away. “I’m fine, Malfoy is Malfoy, I shouldn’t have let him get to me, he’s not standing in my way.”

“Good!” Ron said, although he was casting the portrait hole a look as though he intended to go find Malfoy and make him pay. “Hermione was saying that usually Animagus take the form of their Patronus, which means you’ll be able to literally fly.”

“I know, benefits of having an Osprey Patronus,” she smiled, imagining being able to transform into one. “I bet it would feel so free.”

“I wish I knew my Patronus,” Ron said, whimsically, looking at his wand hopefully. 

“Maybe Harry and I will teach you one day,” Jamie mused, looking at her twin. 

“Yeah, rather you than me,” Harry replied, scrunching up his nose. “Me? A teacher? Never going to happen.”

“You’d actually have to behave for that,” Hermione joked, and they all laughed, Jamie suddenly feeling a million miles away from the classroom with Malfoy, she wasn’t going to let him get to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys!
> 
> Let me know if you enjoyed the chapter!
> 
> Lots of Jamie’s things are based off my own Pottermore results, so an Osprey Patronus and a Cherry Wood wand with Unicorn Hair core, let me know what you results you guys got!


	7. The Skrewts

The next afternoon the Gryffindors were making their way down to Care of Magical Creatures, which they shared with the Slytherins. 

Jamie rolled her eyes as she took in Malfoy laughing with a group of others, she watched Pansy Parkinson lay her hand on his elbow as she laughed, and Jamie struggled not to roll her eyes harder. 

“You need to talk to him,” Hermione said, noticing her eye-line and appearing at her side. “Just say that you’ll see him tomorrow night.” 

“I know, Hermione,” Jamie sighed, still watching Malfoy, he suddenly looked up at her and brushed Pansy’s hand off of him, Jamie hurriedly looked away from him, not wanting to look like she’d been staring. “It’s just I really don’t want to.”

“Just tell him to get lost,” Harry replied, glaring over in his direction. “We can definitely learn how to be Animagus by ourselves.”

“Yes, but that wouldn’t be legal, would it?” Hermione replied, sending Harry a stern look. “Jamie wants to do it the right way.”

“For once,” Ron snorted, grinning up to Jamie. “Look, it’s easy. Just ask Hagrid to put us in pairs or something.”

“That’s a great idea, to be fair a Blast-Ended Skrewt will need more than one of us anyway,” Jamie replied, smiling at Ron. “Wish me luck.”

She marched up to Hagrid who was surrounded by boxes waiting for the entire class to gather, when he saw her he looked up with a large grin of his face. 

“‘Ello, Jamie,” he smiled, stacking the large wooden boxes up. “I’ve just been finishin’ puttin’ more beddin’ in for the Skrewts, hopin’ they’ll find the boxes comfier.”

“I’m sure they will, Hagrid,” Jamie gently smiled, looking into the boxes carefully, trying to hide the unease on her face. “I was wondering if you could help me with a favour.”

“Any thin’ for you, you know that,” he said warmly, and Jamie smiled gratefully. 

“I need you to put me in a group with Malfoy,” she whispered, Hagrid sent her a confused glance. “I know, it’s crazy, but I need to talk to him. McGonagall’s got me tutoring him.”

“Blimey, bet that’s fun,” Hagrid stated, but he nodded. “That’s fine, I’ll sort it.”

“Thank you, Hagrid,” Jamie grinned, and made her way back to the others, turning to Hermione. “See, all fine, thanks Ron.”

“Alrigh’, today we’ll be working in pairs to continue workin’ out what the Skrewts each, I want one Gryffindor to a Slytherin,” Hagrid instructed, Jamie saw both houses glance at the other incredulously. “I’ll start up the pairings, Jamie, you work with Malfoy, and Ron, try Crabbe.”

Jamie made her way over to Malfoy as Hagrid continued up pairing people up, to continuous groans of her classmates, she cast a look behind her to see Hermione being paired up with a Slytherin girl she didn’t know the name of, and let out a sigh of relief it wasn’t Pansy. 

Malfoy didn’t say anything as she walked up to him, in fact he didn’t even really look at her, instead choosing to investigate the crate that Hagrid had dropped off in front of them. 

Jamie stood there quietly as he did this, not being sure how to start the conversation, there was no way in hell she was apologising, he was the problem. 

“Look, Malfoy,” she started, he swirled round to her, a guarded look on his face. “This tutoring McGonagall is having me do, she promised me something if I finished it, and I really want it. And, I know you need my help for your grade to get better, especially with OWLs coming up next year, so for that sake, why don’t we just help each other out?”

“What do you mean?” Malfoy asked, still keeping his distance from her. 

“I mean, we actually help each other, I tutor you, you listen, we both get what we want,” she stated, he looked at her, taking in what she was offering. “No fighting, no arguments, we just do what we have to do, we don’t have to talk or anything, just tutoring. You need me, I need you, so why don’t we just shut up and get in done?”

“You need me?” Malfoy quotes, his usual smug personality coming back. Jamie felt all the annoyance in her body surge, and she did her best to hold her tongue. 

“Professionally, yes. You’re the student,” she said, sticking out her hand in offering. “So do we have a deal?”

“Sure, Potter,” he smirked, reaching out for her outstretched hand, and as he clasped it, their hands sparked. They both jolted back, looking at the other suspiciously. “What did you do?”

“Nothing, I just said I want a peaceful life, I’m not about to curse you, am I?” Jamie reasoned, he glanced up and down at her, before seemingly accepting it was just a weird phenomenon. “Magic is strange, maybe because we made a deal?”

“Whatever, Potter,” he replied, turning back to the crate, and wrenching the lid off. He grabbed a handful of cabbage and shoved it inside before slamming the lid shut. “I hate these things.”

“Same,” Jamie grimaced, stabbing one of the fish on the floor with a stick, before quickly flinging it into the inside of the box, which shook violently. “I’m hoping they’ll all kill each other off.”

“Or break in to the school and kill us instead,” Malfoy said, glaring at the box in hatred. “I could definitely see them taking someone out.”

“Probably an innocent first year,” Jamie laughed, before quickly shutting her mouth as she remember who she was speaking to. 

Malfoy looked at her strangely, before continuing to shove various other foods into the Skrewt’s box, Jamie did the same, doing her best not to look at him. 

Had she just been getting along with him? They’d just been having a completely ordinary conversation, she’d even tried to make a joke. She thought over it, deciding that it was because of their new deal, she’d simply been trying to be polite with him. 

That was exactly it, Malfoy was evil, he’d been the reason for so many of the problems in Jamie’s life, the main one being his father was definitely a Death Eater. She’d never be his friend. 

The lesson continued like this for the most part, Slytherins and Gryffindors sat on tense silent, taking turns feeding a dangerous, definitely murderous animal unknown foods that it may, or may not, eat. 

Jamie let out a sigh of relief when the lesson finished, standing to make her way immediately back to the others, she saw Harry standing just ahead of her, sending her anxious looks. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow night,” Jamie murmured to Malfoy, before starting to walk away. 

“Potter,” he called, making her turn back to him. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

He hurried away after that, back to his usual gang of friends, not looking back at her. Jamie stood still, not quite taking in what happened, it had been a statement, and if he considered that an apology it was an awful one at best. 

“Jamie, you coming or what?” Harry shouted, she snapped out of her trance, turning round to make her way to her brother. “Was he as big of a prat as usual?”

“Don’t you know it,” Jamie replied, reminding herself as she said it all the awful stuff Malfoy had done to them over the years. “How was your partner?”

Jamie barely listened as they all made their way back to the Castle, her mind too busy considering her lesson with Malfoy. 

It hadn’t been that bad, maybe she would be able to get through this tutoring just fine, as long as she forgot it was Malfoy she was teaching, and just acted like he was another regular student, she could do it easy. 

Part of her wondered if she should mention to Hermione about her and Malfoy’s hands sparking the way they did when they touched, but a much larger part of her was against knowing the answer, and she didn’t know exactly why.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are liking this story!!
> 
> I’m hoping to get a lot more chapters out before uni starts and I lose my time to write!
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	8. Second Session

Deja Vu was a weird sensation, and Jamie didn’t appreciate it, she sat, again, twirling her wand as she waited for Malfoy to arrive. 

She looked at the box in front of her, and sighed, hoping this lesson went better than the last, she intended to last until the end, and she definitely wasn’t going to cry. 

She hopped up on the desk behind her, swinging her legs around, deciding to turn some paper into small, singing birds, and charming them to fly around the room.

She smiled as she watched them, watching them swoop in and out of each other, following them to the top of the classroom door, where Malfoy stood, watching her with a strange look on his face. 

“Malfoy!” Jamie shouted startled, almost falling off the desk she was sat on. “Don’t just stand there, you made me jump!”

“Whoops,” he said, although there was no emotion in his voice, so Jamie knew he couldn’t care less. “What’s with the birds?”

“I was bored waiting around for you,” Jamie shrugged, turning the birds back into paper. “I think they look pretty.”

“Sad much, Potter?” Malfoy taunted, Jamie ignored him, choosing to pick up the box on the floor instead. “Where’s your fire at tonight, lion?”

“We made a deal, remember?” Jamie said, looking up to him. “I’m on my best behaviour, no arguing, would be helpful if you did it too.”

“I’ve never been one for behaving,” he smirked, raising an eyebrow at her. 

“That’s a lie,” she scoffed, taking the snail out of its box. “You’ve never talked back to a teacher in your life, I’m in most of your classes, remember?”

“Whatever, I talked back to what’s-his-face-werewolf,” Malfoy sneered, Jamie swung round to him, her eyes piercing. “Oh, I forgot, he’s a favourite of yours, you’ve always been one for the shabby ones.”

“Maybe because I know money is worth a lot less than kindness,” Jamie replied, an edge to her tone. “Professor Lupin was one of the best teachers we ever had, only a fool would say otherwise.”

“Where does kindness get you in the world?” Malfoy commented, rolling his eyes. “That’s naive, money and power make the world turn.”

“Just because no one shows you any kindness doesn’t mean it’s worthless,” Jamie stated, looking her eyes to his. “Family, love, kindness, that’s what makes people live, no matter the world.”

He didn’t say anything, instead choosing to throw his bag and his cloak on the chair beside him, keeping his eyes to the floor. 

“I think it’s sad you don’t realise that,” Jamie whispered, an almost sympathetic tone to her voice. “Love is the most powerful thing in the world, money is pape-“

“Look, can we just start the lesson?” Malfoy interrupted, his voice slightly strained. “I really couldn’t care less about your mighty Gryffindor pep talk right now.”

“Whatever,” Jamie sighed, pulling out her wand to the snail on the desk, muttering a spell under her breath and watching her snail vanish into thin air. “Vanishing Spell, it’s a definite in OWLs, thought it would be a good place to see what you can do.”

She tapped the snail, watching it reappear, and then handing it to Malfoy. 

“Your turn, just remember the hand placement I taught you the other day,” Jamie advised, stepping back and watching him. He nodded, and took his wand, prodding the snail, Jamie watched as nothing happened, and Malfoy huffed in annoyance. “It’s fine, we’re not even meant to learn this spell until next year, I just wanted to see what you could do. But, it’s cool, I can teach you this one, and you’ll be slightly ahead.”

“Okay,” he said lightly, not looking to her, keeping his head bowed away from her. 

“Okay,” she repeated, getting closer to him, and holding out her hand, motioning for the snail so she could demonstrate. “First, stand back from the snail, and brandish your wand anti-clockwise instead, and finally, say the incantation clearer, it’ll help.”

She demonstrated as she instructed, watching the snail vanish from thin air, and bringing it back so Malfoy could try. 

“How are you good at this?” Malfoy questioned, Jamie could see he was doing his best to not look impressed. 

“I don’t know, practice probably,” Jamie said, turning her back to him to throw her cloak on the desk behind her. 

“No, but Granger is better than you in most subjects, but this one,” he pushed, sounding interested. “Why is that?”

“I don’t know, I guess I’m just more gifted at Transfiguration, it’s like Harry and Defence Against the Dark Arts,” Jamie answered honestly, tying her hair up into a bun on the top of her head, Malfoy watched the motion closely, before looking away. “There must be a subject you’re better at than all the others?”

“Potions,” he murmured, turning back to face her. “I’d be the best in the class if it wasn’t for Granger.”

“That’s probably true for a couple of classes,” she hummed, looking at him properly. “You’re smart, Malfoy, I know that. Well, maybe smart at some things, you can be pretty thick in other areas of life.” 

“I thought you were on your best behaviour,” Malfoy said, rolling his eyes and turning back to the snail. 

“It’s not misbehaving when it’s true,” Jamie stated, sitting up on the desk she’d just thrown her cloak on. “Right, let’s see what you’ve got.”

They continued with the Vanishing Spell for the rest of the lesson, keeping their chatter to a minimum, it’s wasn’t until Jamie saw they only had five minutes to go when she stopped him. 

“It’s looks paler,” he examined, turning the snail round in his hand. “Definitely paler.”

“It really is, it means you’re nearly getting there,” Jamie nodded, taking the snail from him and putting it back in its box. “We’ll keep doing it on Friday until the snail is gone, and then we’ll go on to something larger.”

“If I vanished you, you’d finally shut your mouth,” he muttered, Jamie sighed loudly.

“If you vanished me, I’d let the tutoring stop, that’s a hell of a bit of magic,” she replied, hooking her cloak and her bag under her arm. “I’m going to get going, guess I’ll see you in Potions.”

“See you there, Potter,” Malfoy replied, looking unbothered, walking past her to the door. “Oh, by the way, you should wear your hair like that more, it looks good.”

He strode out the classroom after that, leaving Jamie stood there with her mouth open slightly, and her cheeks tinged red. 

She hated when he did that, he knew exactly what to do to get a reaction out of her, she knew she’d seen the smirk on his face as he left the room. 

She groaned and took her hair out of the bun she’d put it on, letting the strands fall around her face, and making her own way out of the classroom. 

She made her way back to Gryffindor Tower a lot peacefully than she had the previous time, and when she entered the Common Room, she smiled as she took in the sight of Harry, Ron and Hermione waiting for her in their favourite chairs by the fire. 

“Hey,” she called, dropping into one of the seats with a groan.

“How was it?” Hermione quizzed, cutting straight to the point, Jamie grinned up at her. “You definitely seem better than last week.” 

“The deal seems to be working, we just focused on the work,” Jamie spoke as she got one parchment out of her bag to start on homework. “Some comments here and there, but nothing I couldn’t handle.”

“No weird attempts to flirt with you?” Harry asked, annoyance in his face. Jamie rolled her eyes, Harry always got protective when it came to boys and dating, she got why, he didn’t want her to get her heart broken. 

“No,” she immediately replied, and then stopped, realising she’d lied to him. “He didn’t say a thing.”

That was when she realised she didn’t want to tell them about the comments Malfoy kept making, it wasn’t like she liked them, but a part of her just didn’t want to share them anymore. 

“What did you guys put in your dream diaries?” Jamie turned to Harry and Ron, ignoring the look Hermione seemed to be giving her. “Do you think Trelawney would believe that I had a dream someone tried to concuss me with one of her crystal balls?”

“She’d love it,” Harry chuckled, as Jamie wrote it down. “She’d probably say it was a sign you were resisting your inner eye.”

“Now that’s a prediction,” Jamie laughed back, scribbling down more fake dreams. “Divination is the best homework to fake.”

“What do you think she’d make of me getting strangled by my bed curtains?” Ron laughed, ignoring Hermione’s eye roll. 

They spent half an hour filling out their month dream journals, and once they’d finished, Jamie stretched and yawned, throwing it into her bag. 

“Right, I’m knackered,” she said, grabbing her bag from the floor and getting up from her chair. “I’m going to get to bed.”

“I’ll come with you,” Hermione said, picking up her Ancient Ruins book and following her. “You two should turn in soon, too.”

Ron and Harry grunted in response, waving them off to bed, Jamie smiled fondly at them, calling a goodnight over her shoulder as she made her way up to the Girls’ Dormitory. 

However, Hermione yanked her shoulder halfway up the staircase, and turned back, making sure they were out of earshot of the others. 

“You lied!”

“Pardon me?” Jamie asked incredulously, looking at Hermione in confusion. 

“You lied!” Hermione repeated, flicking her hair out of her face hurriedly. “When Harry asked if Malfoy made any comments! You lied!”

“No I didn’t,” Jamie replied instantly, and cringed as she realised it was too quick, Hermione sent her a look. “Fine, I did.”

“I knew it!” Hermione cried, giving her a stern look. “You went red as you said it, why on earth are you lying to Harry?”

“You know how he can get with Malfoy,” Jamie responded, starting to walk back up the staircase, Hermione followed. “He doesn’t need another reason to duel Malfoy outside lessons, I’m just ignoring him anyway.”

“Is that’s why you’re lying?” Hermione queried, looking unconvinced. 

“What other reason would there be?” Jamie deadpanned, walking round the entrance of their room. 

“That you like him flirting with you like that,” she replied, raising two very judgemental eyebrows.

“You’re joking,” Jamie scoffed, looking at Hermione in shock. “You must think I’ve lost my mind, have you forgotten who we’re talking about?”

“Have you?” 

“Come off it, Hermione,” Jamie laughed, Hermione seemed to relax at this. “You know I’ve hated Malfoy since the day I’ve met him, I’d never like any fake compliment he gave me, he’s just trying to get under my skin.”

“Glad to hear it,” Hermione grinned, opening the dormitory door. “There’s no one worse than Malfoy.”

“I mean Voldemort has a lot more going for him,” Jamie said sarcastically, and Hermione sent her an unamused look. “I’m just saying, Hermione, at least Malfoy isn’t a murderer.”

“Bet you ten galleons his Dad is though!”

“Yeah, you’ve got me there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!!
> 
> I hope you like where this story is going, the whole Harry being a champion will happen soon, Goblet of Fire is one of my favourite books, I feel like it really kicks off the darkness in the series


	9. A Case or Potter’s Luck

The sessions continued in the same way through course of September and most of October, Malfoy had mastered his vanishing spell and had moved on to vanishing larger objects, such as cats. 

It was their last session before the students from the other schools competing in the Triwizard Tournament were arriving, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. 

There was a general buzz throughout the entire school, people getting hyped up for the competition to start, even Jamie herself was looking forward to it, the age line had relaxed her past fears enough. 

Malfoy was in the middle of trying to get his cat to disappear, it was halfway there, but now held the image of an opaque silhouette, almost ghostlike. 

“If you could enter the tournament,” Jamie began, Malfoy lifted his head to look at her. “Would you?”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ve got enough money to not worry about dying to get some.”

Jamie and Malfoy didn’t get on, they knew that, but they could now bare the other’s company for long enough to hold a conversation; they’d spent over five hours a week with each other for the past six weeks after all. 

“I don’t think I would either, don’t think it’s worth eternal glory if you’re having to risk your life to do it,” Jamie mused, sitting up on one of the desks. “What’s the point of not being around to actually see it?”

“I don’t think anyone is going to die, Potter,” Malfoy said, his voice snarky. “The teachers have put safety procedures in place, it’s not as vicious as it used to be.”

“You’re saying that, but this is Hogwarts, we had a whole basilisk roaming about the place two years ago, no one seems to mention it,” Jamie mused, and she could have sworn Malfoy cracked a small smile for a millisecond then it was gone. “I bet you ten galleons someone at least gets seriously hurt.”

“What qualifies as seriously hurt?” Malfoy queried, trying not to seem interested. 

“Near death experiences, or of course, worse than that, not that I would ever want that to happen,” Jamie said, quickly. 

“Gryffindors are so concerned with morals,” Malfoy sneered, but held out his hand. “Ten galleons they all finish without a scratch on them.”

“Deal,” Jamie said, shaking his hand gingerly, no sparks emitted this time, which she took as a good sign. “Hogwarts to win?”

“Hogwarts to win,” Malfoy replied, pulling away his hand. 

“Okay, back to practicing,” Jamie shooed him away quickly, creating a less awkward scenario. 

“Whose cat is this anyway?”

“His name is Crookshanks, and he is the best boy going,” Jamie smiled, running her hand over Crookshanks’ back, he looked at her reproachfully, before turning back to look at Malfoy. “I’m borrowing him so you best be careful you do it right.”

“I don’t think it likes me,” Malfoy muttered, casting a wary gaze over him. “It’s looking at me funny.”

“Crookshanks is a genius,” Jamie said fondly, scratching the cat behind the ear, he purred loudly, and Jamie looked up to Malfoy to show he was friendly. “He judges people pretty well, so I would watch it.”

“I don’t like cats,” Malfoy sniffed, Crookshanks seemed to eye Malfoy up, and Jamie laughed. 

“What? More of a dog person?” Jamie chuckled, Malfoy met her eye, and seemed to struggle to hide a smile. Jamie ignored it, figuring it to be a trick of the light, he would never smile at any joke she made. “Come on, ten minutes and I’m taking Crookshanks back with me to my dormitory, practice Malfoy.”

He did as he was told, and had sort of half vanished Crookshanks by the end of the lesson, Jamie restored him to his usual state and picked him up into her arms. 

“Not bad,” she informed, stroking Crookshanks gently. “Large objects are harder, but you’re really getting there. McGonagall will be impressed, that’s fifth year standard.”

“You’re not a bad tutor, Potter,” Malfoy’s muttered, avoiding her eye and picking up his bag. 

“Be careful, someone will think that’s a compliment,” Jamie said sarcastically, throwing her bag over her shoulder, and walking out of the room with Malfoy just behind her. 

“Don’t be stupid,” he jeered, walking to the staircases with her. “Give you a compliment? You must be barking, Potter.”

“Six weeks of lessons and only now you question my sanity,” Jamie stated, holding Crookshanks firmly as he wriggled. “You’re slipping, Malfoy.”

“Whatever, Potter,” he said, taking the staircase down to the Dungeons. “Bet it sucks for you Transfiguration is so far down.”

“I do so love the seven flights of stairs,” Jamie hummed, starting her way up. “At least they keep me fit.”

“Trust me, Potter, you couldn’t get any fitter,” Malfoy said, a smirk on his face.

“Watch your mouth, Malfoy,” Jamie snapped back, used to his lame flirtations now. “Before I wash it out for you.”

“Is that a promise?”

“Gross,” Jamie replied, disgusted. “If you’re trying to get under my skin you’re going to have to try harder than that, your comments are getting old.”

“We’ll see, Potter,” he grinned, continuing down his staircase. “My charm will work it’s way into their someday.”

“In your dreams, Malfoy,” Jamie sneered, glaring at his retreating back. “In what reality would I ever fall in love with someone like you?”

He didn’t reply to this, or turn his head, he stopped in his tracks for a second, before disappearing from her sight as he descended. 

Jamie huffed loudly, repositioning her bag and Crookshanks so they were both safe in her arms, and began her journey back to the Common Room. 

Crookshanks dropped out of her arms as soon as they entered the portrait hole, heading straight for Hermione’s lap, and curling up there to sleep. 

Jamie collapsed into the chair next to her, while Harry and Ron were both sprawled our on the hearth rug, scribbling out a Potion’s essay each.

Jamie thanked herself for finishing hers in the library earlier, she’d taken to doing her homework on her days off and during her lunch times. 

McGonagall’s tutoring had affected her other studies, so she was now spending most of her free time keeping up with the others, she couldn’t help but be glad Quidditch wasn’t on at the moment, she’d never find the time. 

“How was it today?” Hermione asked, as Jamie brought out her Charms essay to finish. 

“Same as usual, not too bad, not great,” Jamie smiled at her, blotting her quill in the ink Hermione had left out. “But I survived, and it’s getting easier, I don’t see how McGonagall can’t see he’s getting better, I noticed it.”

“You just have to hope he’s behaving in classes,” Hermione replied. “If he’s not paying attention, she won’t notice your influence.”

“I’d kill him if that’s the case,” Jamie murmured angrily, accidentally moving her quill too quick and marking the parchment. 

“Can we kill him anyway?” Harry asked, his usual distaste for Malfoy plain and clear. 

“Not until I hold up my side of the bargain,” Jamie laughed, Harry smiled in return. “But after that, I won’t be able to wait to get shot of him.”

They all laughed, Jamie cozied into her armchair as she finished her essay, passing it to Ron and Harry to read over before they started their own. 

“I wonder how the other schools will arrive tomorrow,” Jamie queried as the room quietened, eventually leaving just the four of them and Fred and George. “The train seems like it would be too difficult to organise.”

“They’ll have their own methods of travel,” Hermione answered, looking excited. “If will be so interesting to see different types of magic from other wizarding cultures.”

“I’m putting bets on a Gryffindor champion,” Ron said eagerly, sliding his Charms essay to the side. “As long as it’s not a Slytherin, I’ll be fine.”

“I’d rather a Slytherin won than another school”, Jamie spoke, Ron sent her a funny look. “A Hogwarts Champion is still a Hogwarts win, I don’t care the house really, just as long as they win the tournament. I’m glad you have to be of age, I couldn’t handle the pressure of being the Champion, it would be so stressful.”

“Yeah, rather them than me,” Harry snorted, also putting away his Charms essay before he finished it, Jamie sent him a strict look. “I’ll have loads of time to finish it, no Quidditch remember? I’ve got no responsibilities.”

Jamie thought of that moment bitterly a week later, as she scowled at a Hufflepuff who sent her a dirty look. 

Of course it had been Harry’s name drawn out of the Goblet, that’s just how her luck worked, but she knew he hadn’t done it himself, which was worse, in a way, because it meant someone was trying to do him in again. 

She stalked up the Great Hall to breakfast, sliding in between Ginny and George, second Ron an annoyed look as she did so. 

“Still not speaking to him?” Ginny asked curiously, Jamie shook her head, helping herself to some toast. “He knows Harry didn’t put his own name in, he’s just being a prat.”

“Well he better stop soon, it’s bad enough the whole school thinking Harry is a cheat, let alone his best friend,” Jamie replied, loud enough for Ron to hear. “I’ll talk to him as soon as he talks to Harry, he has to realise Harry would be absolute barney to put his name in it, his three years younger than the other contestants!”

“I know, Jamie, I know,” George said, patting her on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, our youngest brother is just a bit dim, he’ll wake up to it eventually.”

“Yeah, if not we’ll force him to,” Fred smiled at her, Ron looked up their way, and met Jamie’s eye nervously. “Your brother is a lot of things, Jamie, but he’s not a liar. He might have the worst luck in the universe though.”

“Tell me about it,” Jamie sighed, rubbing a hand over her face. “Of all the people, of course it’s him, you can’t help getting tired of it.”

“At least he has a while to the first task,” Ginny comforted, sending a grim smile her way. “He has a month to prepare.”

“God knows what he’ll face though,” Jamie continued, taking a big bite of her toast. “As long as he gets through it without any major injuries, I’m perfectly happy.”

“He’ll be fine,” Ron piped up from his seat further down the table, evidently eavesdropping. “Dumbledore isn’t going to let anything bad happen to Harry, you know that.”

“Well, to be fair, he’s been doing a poor job of it so far in our lives,” Jamie shot back, standing up from the table. “I’m going to get some air before Herbology, the Hufflepuffs are going to be unbearable to Harry, they’re all upset he’s taken Diggory’s glory or something.”

Jamie huffed as she walked out of the Great Hall, casting her eyes over to the Slytherin table absentmindedly, to find a pair of grey eyes watching her.

Malfoy looked at her carefully, before turning back to the other Slytherins, and saying something that made Crabbe snort.

Jamie rolled her eyes as they were clearly talking about Harry, and of course, tonight she had to spend time alone with Malfoy, probably trying to get her to gossip about her own twin. 

What a fun night she was in for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed the chapter!
> 
> I tried to make this lengthy as I’ve moved into my new uni house this week and it’s been a bit hectic, so I’m trying to make my updates larger if they are less frequent.
> 
> Thank you all for reading!


	10. A Weasley Experiment

Jamie raked a hand through her hair as she ran the last few steps to the classroom, trying to comb through any sticky elements so they weren’t too obvious. 

She hadn’t seen who had done it, but eggs dropping on her head as she’d climbed the marble staircase after having a quick fly about with Fred and George was the last thing she needed. 

She was sure it had been the Hufflepuffs, and it had been fairly done, she’d tripped a fifth-year over before dinner as she’d heard him talking shit about Harry. Hufflepuffs were loyal after all.

She pushed the door open quickly, slamming her bag down on the desk as Malfoy looked up, an annoyed look on his face before he took in her appearance, a confused glaze taking over. 

“Hufflepuffs,” she explained, grimacing as she ran her hand over the egg in her hair, feeling disgusted. “Got me on the staircase, they’re angry about Harry and all that rubbish.”

“It’ll fade, they won’t be angry forever,” Malfoy said, shrugging it off, Jamie looked up suspiciously. “Plus your brother will do some other glory-hunting, heroic activity and people will be up his arse again soon.” 

Jamie eyes flickered menacingly, and she had her wand out and pointed at Malfoy’s throat before he could blink, she’d been extra defensive today and no one, especially Malfoy, was going to talk about her brother like that. 

“Easy, Potter,” Malfoy said, his eyes casting nervously down to her wand. “Look, I don’t even think your brother put his name in, he’s not that brave.”

“Don’t talk about my brother like that again,” she hissed, her wand still up, Malfoy risked putting his hand on the tip of her wand, and pushing it down. “I’m fed up of people thinking of him as some hero, he doesn’t want any of that, the only reason he’s only considered one in the first place is because our parents were murdered, why would anyone want that?”

“Okay, Potter,” Malfoy muttered, casting an uneasy glance at her, his hand now taking the wand from her hand, she did nothing to stop him. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not! Why doesn’t anyone ever think why it’s always him? Voldemort wants him dead, every single year something happens to try and kill him, why would anyone think a fourteen year old would ever try and put their name in a tournament like this?” Jamie cried, overwhelmed with the emotions of the last twenty four hours. “Does no one care? He’s probably going to end up getting killed, that’s just my luck, he’s all I’ve ever had, what happens if I lose him too?”

Malfoy only watched her, unsure what to do, Jamie laughed bitterly as tears started to well in her eyes, it was if she’d suddenly hit a breaking point. Of course it would have been in front of Malfoy, she felt the tears starting to come down her face as she picked bits of egg angrily out of her hair, and looked up to see Malfoy looking almost concerned. 

“You probably think I’m mental,” she scoffed, turning to look at the ceiling instead of him. “You’ve always resented Harry for how much he’s admired, but you don’t get he hates it too, the only reason we’re even famous is because we survived Voldemort when we were babies and our parents didn’t. Would you want that? To grow up in a house where you are hated for having magic? Where you’re found weird and strange for having something you can’t even control? We were hated by our Aunt and Uncle growing up, Hogwarts is the best escape we ever had, even with someone trying to kill Harry every year, what does that say?”

“Evangeline,” Malfoy whispered, she looked up at him, brushing the tears off her face hastily. “It’s okay.”

“Don’t call me that,” she warned, trying to hastily stop her tears. “Look just forget it, I can’t believe I told you of all people, you hate us, and everything about our family.”

“I don’t,” he said, twirling Jamie’s wand over in his hands, admiring the carved woodwork before looking up and meeting her eyes. “I don’t hate you.”

“Of all the crazy things in the last twenty four hours, that’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard,” she scoffed, pushing herself away from him. “You’ve treated me like shit for the last four years, what’s so different this year?”

He didn’t answer, his usual scowl returning back into its place, she rolled her eyes, walking up to him to take her wand back, but as she went to grasp it, he held it above his head, out of her reach.

“You can’t be seri-“

“Evanesco,” he muttered, pointing her own wand down at her, her hair lifted slightly, and she grasped it in confusion. “You looked cute with egg all over you, but you still look better without it.”

She stood there speechless, gaping at him wordlessly, he smirked, putting a hand over her shoulder and brushing her hair behind her ear, placing her wand in the gap behind her ear. 

“Potter, no offence, but you don’t seem stable enough to teach today, but at least I’ve proved I’ve mastered the vanishing spell,” he smirked, hooking his bag over his shoulder, and heading towards the door. “See you in two days, hopefully more emotionally controlled.”

He left, closing the door softly behind him, she braced herself on one of the desks behind her, balancing herself as she fell back. 

She moved her hand to trace the spot Malfoy had tucked her hair back, pulling her wand out of her hair, it still tingled from where his fingertips had been. 

She sighed loudly, completely confused about whatever had just happened, not because of what he had done or said, no, Malfoy had been trying that the entire year. 

No, it was because it was so sincere. 

Or at least it had felt it, she wasn’t sure which, but the way he had looked down on her, and called her Evangeline, and tried to calm her down, none of that was very Malfoy.

She twirled her wand over in her hands, just as he had done, as she did it she thought of him, of how he’d looked at her as he’d brushed back her hair, she gripped her wand tighter, pink sparks flying out the end of it. 

The sparks jolted her out of whatever trance she was in, she blinked a couple of times and groaned, grabbing her bag off the desk and making her way back up to the common room. 

She thought furiously as she walked, hardly taking notice of anything in front of her, her eyes glued to the floor as he mind worker overtime. 

What was she doing? Thinking of Malfoy as sincere? Thinking he’d given her tingles and made her blush? Maybe Malfoy had been right, she wasn’t mentally stable enough to do anything tonight, let alone teach. 

This was Malfoy, she was losing her mind, she hated him, he was a blood purist and a snob, that alone made her blood boil immediately. 

Yet, he hadn’t shown any of that side during their recent sessions, but that was more of an excuse than anything. Why was she making excuses for Malfoy?

But maybe he was different than she’d thought, hadn’t he just said he didn’t hate her? Maybe it was only what he’d been told to say by his parents, maybe it wasn’t how he really felt. 

She shook her head, pretending to be a blood purist was just as bad as actually being one, and it was a mindset that disgusted her to her very core, she let out an angry huff as she walked, but not before she collided with someone. 

“Woah, easy Jamie,” George said, leaning down to balance her as she wobbled from the impact. “You good? You look a little pale.”

“Yeah, uh, just still a bit cold from the fly around earlier,” she responded, keen to brush it off. “Did you get my broom back in my room okay earlier? Thank you for taking it.”

“No problem, you had your appointment with the sleaziest greaseball around,” George smiles at her, and then narrowed his gaze at her suspiciously. “Speaking of which, aren’t you back extremely early?”

“Maybe,” she sighed, he looked at her as if connecting the dots in his head, and opened his mouth to speak. “Yes, he is the reason I look like I’m about to throw up.”

“What did he do?” George said angrily, she sighed, placing a hand on his chest to push him down a little. 

“I’m fine, George, honestly,” Jamie reassured him, it was lovely to have, but sometimes the Weasleys got a little defensive on her part. “It sounds ridiculous but he made this comment about Harry, and I got angry, and then I had a breakdown and was like crying on him, and he sort of comforted me, made me feel better and then he brushed my hair behind my ear? And now I’m freaking out.”

“Wow,” George replied, taking in all she said as she’d talked a mile a minute, she sighed, she didn’t mind telling George at all, she trusted him, but if it got back to Harry, she wasn’t sure how he’d react. “Did you make him actually react in an emotional way? I wasn’t sure he had a heart.”

“George,” Jamie scolded him, and he laughed. “It’s nothing, I’ll get over it, it was just weird, but I’m begging, please don’t tell Harry.”

“Oh no, he’d freak and think Malfoy was in love with you or something,” George laughed, stopping when Jamie didn’t to send her a suspicious look. “He isn’t, is he?”

“No, but he’s been kinda flirty with me? I think to get a reaction, and Harry hates it, so please don’t add anything to it,” Jamie begged, George nodded hesitantly, and she smiled in relief. “Good, thank you, look I better get back to the others, but thank you for hearing me out.”

“You’re alright, kid,” George said, ruffling her hair, but he had a look in his eye that made her stomach churn in worry. “Anyway, I’ve got a date with a very cute Ravenclaw to get to, so I’ll catch you later.”

Jamie rolled her eyes and nodded, starting her walk back to the common room with two things in her mind, the look in George’s eye, and whether or not Harry would Malfoy’s head off of he found out how he’d acted today. 

She climbed the portrait hole to find the others in bed, which she was amazingly relieved at, George had spotted something wrong with her from one look, the others would spot it in less, and she didn’t need an interrogation at this time of night. 

By the time she’d woken in the morning she’d relaxed a lot more, and was too concerned with Hermione rushing her to get dressed for breakfast to be concerned in the slightest about Malfoy. 

However, it was fifteen minutes later when she was sat in the Great Hall, munching on a slice of toast and jam when he drifted back into her mind. 

He was sat directly in her eye-line on the Slytherin table, and made eye contact with her as soon as she looked up, he had a searching expression, as though he was checking her over. 

Jamie realised he was checking if she looked okay, so she sent him a small reassuring smile without thinking about it, and he nodded in response, a small grin on his face before he turned away. 

“What on earth was that?” Hermione immediately demanded, and Jamie blanched, looking up at her in surprise. 

“I honestly don’t know,” Jamie admitted, locking eyes with Hermione. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you, but I think he was checking if I was okay.”

“I mean this in no disrespect to you, but why would he care?” Hermione asked, and Jamie shrugged honestly, more surprised by her casual reply to him than anything else. “What’s up with him?”

“I haven’t got a clue,” Jamie said, her head now spinning again, George slid into the seat next to her and threw an arm around her shoulder, sending a smirk over to the Slytherin table. 

“I do,” he smiled, looking down at her and moving her closer into his side, she looked at him weirdly, trying to pull herself back. “No, wait, I’m experimenting.”

“Well, do you mind?” Jamie asked, her hand on George’s hand to move it back. “Go experiment with your Ravenclaw instead.”

“Not like that, you weirdo,” George laughed, Hermione and Jamie sent him confused looks. “Not being rude, Jamie, but you’re like my little sister, I can’t do that. However, this is an experiment concerning a certain foul git who hasn’t stopped looking up over here since I sat down.”

Jamie looked up as George said it, immediately catching the grey eyes she’d gotten used to finding, but for once he didn’t look away. He had his usual scowl in place again, the small grin he’d given her nowhere in sight, Jamie looked up to George who smiled proudly, and removed his arm, leaning back on the bench. 

“You, my dearest little Potter, have a Malfoy determined to get close to you,” George smiled, impressed with his own mind. “I don’t know his reasoning why, but I doubt it’s with good intentions.”

With that, Jamie looked back up to Malfoy, who was chatting to Blaise next to him, now seemingly unaware of her state, she could feel Hermione’s eyes on her, but was too afraid to meet her gaze. 

Jamie felt too queasy to eat the rest of her breakfast, the idea of Malfoy wanting to get close to her had stunted her appetite, and she wasn’t sure the reason why.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!   
> So sorry it’s been such a long break, I’m fully back at Uni now and it’s been super busy but thank you for reading!!


	11. Chapter 11

“He likes you.”

“Drop it, Hermione.”

“It’s not even a joke, he barely takes his eyes off you.”

“You’re jumping to conclusions.”

“What else is there to jump to?”

“So much!” Jamie laughed, twirling round on her feet. “Maybe he’s doing it to annoy Harry, or so he can weaken my hate towards him and then he’s gonna stab me in the back or something.”

“Jamie,” Hermione moaned, sending her a look of disbelief. 

“These are all possibilities,” Jamie smiled, walking into the dim sunlight in the courtyard, the last shreds of autumn now fading away. “I’m just putting some logic into your madness.”

“It’s not madness!” Hermione defended, a wild look in her eye. “It’s perfectly logical on its own, he never teases you anymore, in all your recent study sessions he’s been the perfect student, and he hasn’t even mentioned Harry near you, especially when Harry’s task is tomorrow!” 

“Thanks for that reminder,” Jamie groaned, throwing herself on the shade beneath a tree. “Also, we don’t know that, I have a session with him tonight, he might be a complete arse about Harry, we’ll find out.”

“I doubt it,” Hermione tutted, taking a seat much more gracefully. “Harry will be fine Jamie, he’s prepared, he knows what the task is at least!”

“Don’t know if prepared is the right word, all he knows is he has to get past a dragon,” Jamie muttered quietly, Hermione sighed. “I’m just glad he’s decided to tell Cedric, keeps them all on a level playing ground.”

“You know what your brother is like more than anyone,” Hermione said, nudging her gently. “He’s the quickest thinker I know, he always makes it out of situations like this, usually on top.” 

“I’m thinking of blowing off my session with Malfoy tonight, help Harry practice the summoning charm with you,” Jamie hummed, Hermione sent her a dark look. “What? Is helping keep my brother from dying not an adequate excuse to miss one session?”

“Not when it’s just using him as an excuse,” Hermione lectured, bristling her hair. “Plus, Harry and I will be fine by ourselves practicing, he’s almost got it down anyway.”

“Almost being the keyword there,” Jamie sighed, pushing her hair behind her ear. “I’d rather practice with him so I didn’t have to worry.” 

“Or practice with him so you could avoid Malfoy?” Hermione questioned, an accusing look in her eye, Jamie rolled her eyes and looked away. “Have you even talked about it?”

“Talked about what?” Jamie said innocently, picking up a smooth pebble from the ground and running her hand over it. 

“I’ll take that as a no,” Hermione stated, pursing her lips. “Jamie, it was weird, don’t you want to clear the air?”

“Not with Malfoy,” Jamie replied, pocketing the stone in her robes. “I’d rather carry on as we’re going, in a sort of awkward silence where we just do the work and avoid each other’s eyes.”

It was true, the sessions had been awkward since Malfoy had tried to comfort her, in fact they’d been almost boring. No teasing, no fighting, Malfoy had been silent when he was working, doing what Jamie said, and working until he perfected it. 

Then when she said they were finished, he’d back up his bag hastily and disappear from the classroom without another word, Jamie didn’t mind it, it was easier this way. 

“Maybe he thinks you’re dating George,” Hermione gasped, turning to face Jamie suddenly. “And he doesn’t know what to do after he’s been flirting with you for so long.”

“You’re losing it,” Jamie scoffed, sending Hermione a bewildered look. “You’re now taking his avoidance of me as a sign he likes me? This is Malfoy we’re talking about, he’d never like someone like me anyway.”

“Jamie, you’re one of the prettiest girls in the year, you’re Chaser of the Quidditch team, top of your classes, and you’re the funniest, most charming person anyone around here knows,” Hermione said, rolling her eyes. “How could he not like you?”

“You’re wrong, I’m definitely not top in my classes with you around,” Jamie chimed, standing up, Hermione glared at her. “What? It’s true, and for funniest person anyone knows? That’s Fred and George’s title.”

“Whatever you say,” Hermione said, pushing herself off the ground. “I’m just saying it’s perfectly reasonable that Malfoy has a crush on you.”

“Shouldn’t you be trying to stop the idea that he likes me?” Jamie laughed, starting the walk off to the Transfiguration classroom where they were meeting Harry. “We hate him.”

“We do, but it’s just interesting,” Hermione smiled, Jamie linked her arm with hers. “Plus, it’s harmless, it’s not like you’re ever going to like him back or anything.”

“Definitely not, after the way he treats you?” Jamie questioned, her blood boiling with the thought of it. “I’d have to take one hell of a love potion.” 

They were too busy laughing as they made their way down the corridor that they missed the shadow of white blond hair whip out of sight, and its hurried footsteps disappearing as it went. 

*******

“Come on, Malfoy,” Jamie groaned, looking at the unmoving pebble on the desk. “How can you be half an hour late?”

She huffed as she talked to herself, the empty classroom echoing her words around her. She floated the pebble around, figuring she could at least practice her magic. 

She waved the pebble down onto the ground, pushing away the desks next to it to create more room. Jamie smiled as she waved her wand, muttering the spell lightly under her breath. 

She watched the pebble transform smoothly, a smirk coming onto her face as the animal began to move around the room, waving its way around the desks, until it stopped at the feet of someone at the door. 

“Very funny,” Malfoy snarled, looking at the white ferret darting round his feet. 

“Sorry,” Jamie snorted, transforming it back into a pebble and summoning it towards her. “You were late.”

“I was busy,” he said, his back to her as he shrugged his bag off his shoulder. 

“Great apology,” Jamie stated, rolling her eyes. “I was expecting more of a poem, a heartbroken forgiveness letter.”

“Check my pockets, maybe there’s one screwed up with all the other rubbish in there,” Malfoy shrugged, taking his time placing his bag on his desk. “I wasn’t going to come at all, so maybe you should be thankful.”

“Remember I’m doing this to help your grades, not mine,” Jamie stated, watching his back. “Are you okay? You’re acting weird.”

“Why would you care?” Malfoy snapped, still turned away from her. “Don’t you hate me?”

“What?” Jamie asked, thoroughly confused. “What’s with that?”

“I asked if you hated me,” Malfoy said, his tone quieter. “I’m waiting for a reply.”

“I’m here to tutor you, not be your friend,” Jamie answered, feeling slightly guilty. “Yes, if you want the truth, I do hate you.”

Malfoy didn’t reply, but Jamie watched his shoulders tense, and his head dip. 

“Actually that’s a lie,” she carried on, his head turned to her slightly, she watched as his blonde hair dropped slightly, covering his eyes. “I don’t hate you, I hate your attitude, your parents, your purist beliefs, the way you treat my friends, and the way you treat my brother.

“That’s not even the worst part,” she carried on, still looking at Malfoy carefully. “It’s the way you treat people that you for some reason think you’re able to declare less worthy than your entitled self. How you treat younger students, or even the people you call friends, it’s disgusting. You put yourself above everyone else just because of your last name and your blood status, when the sad thing is Malfoy, with an attitude like that you’re going to end up at the bottom of society, with no love, no friends, and living an incredibly sad life.”

She was almost out of breath when she finished, taking in a deep breath, Malfoy was still, seemingly taking in what she’d just said. He finally turned towards her, a fiery expression on his face, he stared her down and Jamie felt her stomach flip, her hand clutching round her wand.

“I’m going to prove you wrong,” Malfoy muttered, his eyes blazing. “You don’t know me, you just think you know me, life is more complicated than it seems, Evangeline.”

“No one calls me that, Malfoy,” Jamie said, rolling her eyes. “It’s Potter or Jamie, and you’ve never been nice enough to call me Jamie, so you know what that leaves you with.”

“Yes, Evangeline,” he smirked, walking towards her. “I know exactly what I’m left with. You’re wrong about me, I’m going to show you.”

“Whatever you say, Malfoy,” Jamie sighed, turning away from him and putting the pebble on the floor. “You’re here to learn, focus on transfiguration.” 

Jamie kept up her unbothered facade for the rest of their lesson, simply rolling her eyes when Malfoy would look at her, but underneath she could not have been freaking out more. 

What did he mean he was going to prove her wrong?

She didn’t want to know, instead focusing on making Malfoy work harder on transforming the pebble into the perfect, slimy snail. As soon as she realised it had been an hour and a half, she stepped in and transformed the now snail back into its pebble form. 

“Keep it,” she said, tossing the stone to Malfoy’s and turning round to grab her bag. “Keep practicing, you’re nearly there, I’ve got to go.”

She went to rush out of the room but a hand on her shoulder stalled her, she turned round to face Malfoy, who looked more shy than usual. 

“Uhh, just wanted to say, I guess good luck to your brother tomorrow,” he mumbled, moving the hand from Jamie’s shoulder to rub his neck. “It’d be a shame if he burnt out too early on.”

“Wow, thanks Malfoy,” Jamie replied, backing away towards the door. “It just be better if he died later on, I get what you’re saying, very charming.”

“Wait, th-that’s not wha-“

Jamie left the room, the door slamming shut blocking out the rest of Malfoy’s words. She shrugged it off, practically running along the corridor to get to the staircase before Malfoy could come out of the classroom. 

Why was she always so bristled by their sessions? The last few weeks it had been because he was barely talking to her, and before that, it was because he’d been sincere. Now, she was annoyed that he’d said he’d prove her wrong about him, how could she be wrong about Malfoy?

She didn’t know, he’d seemed to take what she’d said to heart, but she’d told him nothing but the truth about why she didn’t like him, and he’d asked for it anyway. 

And what was with the Evangeline all of a sudden? The only people that called her that were her Aunt and Uncle, and she hated it immensely. 

Sometimes Remus would refer to her as Evangeline, but he’d do it with a teasing smile, like when he would tell her off for messing about in class last year. 

Sirius would always call her Jamie, he was the one that had started the nickname off when she was a baby, and apparently the habit had stuck.

She groaned to herself, the climb to the common room feeling longer and longer with each stair she took, and when she finally climbed through the portrait hole, she was promptly hit with a book to the face. 

“Ow!” Jamie cried, holding the side of her face carefully. 

“Oh, Jamie, I’m so sorry!” Hermione called, running over. “I didn’t see you coming through when I let the book go.”

“It’s cool, nothing but a few less brain cells,” Jamie joked, looking around to see Harry holding in a laugh. “Find that funny, did you?”

“It did make my night much more enjoyable,” Harry stated, his wand clutched in his hand. “All I’ve been doing is practicing.”

“Oh, let me see how you’re doing,” Jamie replied, sitting on the arm of a chair. “At least I can help now I’m here.”

“How was the git anyway?” Harry asked, pointing his wand at the book Hermione was holding. “Accio.”

The book soared across the room, landing at Harry’s feet, Jamie clapped happily, a feeling of relief spreading through her. 

“Git-like as usual,” Jamie chimed, nodding her head up to her dormitory. “Feel like summoning my Transfiguration book? McGonagall asked me to practice a NEWT level spell with Malfoy, at this rate he’s going to be getting a higher grade in the OWLs than the rest of us.”

“Don’t joke,” Hermione warned, sending her a sharp look. “Anyway, did anything interesting happen?”

“Nah, same as last week, just came in and practiced until we finished,” Jamie told her, turning back to Harry. “Come on then, times-a-ticking.”

The resulting bang of a book breaking out of the chest at the end of her bed, and cries of surprise from the rest of the girls in her dormitory as the book soared down the stairs, were enough to mask the guilt Jamie felt about not telling Harry and Hermione the truth. 

She told herself that she knew it was because Hermione would freak that Malfoy was in love with her, and Harry would have a heart attack and miss the first task anyway. 

While those facts were true, she wasn’t sure if or when Malfoy was going to try and prove himself, but she wanted to be the one he was proving it to, and she didn’t want anyone else to know that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you guys enjoyed! 
> 
> Malfoy as always is a difficult character to write differently than how he is in the books, but I hope you guys enjoy what I’m trying to do with him!

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, everyone!
> 
> I really hope you enjoy this chapter, I’m hoping it seems like a good start!
> 
> I can’t believe this is my first Harry Potter fic, Ive been reading them for so many years now, and I hope you all enjoy this one!


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